I Didn't Expect To See You Again
by cywscross
Summary: His name wasn't always Kurosaki Ichigo but he doesn't remember that until much later, when he's trying to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou and another voice calls out to him, achingly familiar as it reverberates deep within his soul. "Now that you can finally hear me, I will not let you go again. We will give you everything, but in return, let us stay by your side."
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Bleach.**

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**General Warnings: **Ichigo-centric, major AU, GEN, Ichigo-is-Kaien, reincarnation

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**Summary:** His name wasn't always Kurosaki Ichigo but he doesn't remember that until much later, when he's trying to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou and another voice calls out to him, achingly familiar as it reverberates deep within his soul. _"Now that you can finally hear me, I will not let you go again. We will give you everything, but in return, let us stay by your side."_

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**Chapter 1**

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**1.**

_ "Finally."_

The word was breathed with such heartfelt relief that Ichigo almost dropped his sword as he whirled around and tried to pinpoint where the female voice was coming from. A few feet away, the Hollowfied Zangetsu had stopped as well, blade lowered as the spirit watched on with heartbreak in his eyes.

Ichigo didn't know what to make of any of this.

"Who are you?" He demanded out loud instead. "_Where_ are you?"

_"I am here. Can't you see me? I have always been here, but you have not been able to hear me."_

Ichigo spun again, struggling to ignore the growing headache building in his head. What was happening?

He tried again. "Who-"

He gasped as images flooded his mind, and this time, he really did drop his sword, falling forward as a tidal wave of memories – _and yes, they were memories_ – crashed into his skull, echoing words he knew, words like _Metastacia_ and _Miyako_ and _Ukitake-taichou_.

He didn't feel himself hit anything as darkness swept away his surroundings, but he did feel a gentle pair of arms circle around him, wrapping him in a protective hug that instinctively made him relax.

He knew this person, knew her like he knew the back of his hand. She had been his constant companion for centuries, loyal to a fault and always there when he needed her.

He knew, he knew, he knew-

His eyes flew open and zeroed in on the face above him. "_Nejibana_?"

The spirit hovering over him – blue eyes, pale skin, long white hair streamlined with trails of water, and wearing a flowing navy kimono patterned with white blossoms – instantly brightened, pleasure lighting her expression as one cool hand rested against his forehead.

"You remember," Nejibana said, and the distant echo from before was gone, replaced by an underlying murmur that reminded him of a lazy stream flowing under the summer sun. "Welcome back, Kaien."

Ichigo pushed himself up into a sitting position, careful not to move too quickly.

"Ichigo now," He corrected gently even as he rearranged the last of the memories that had been dumped in his head into the proper order. Ichigo felt right, even if he had been Kaien once upon a time. "What- How did this happen?"

Nejibana tilted her head. "I haven't the faintest idea. I do not know how reincarnation works, only that it does, and I have followed you from one life to another. You are _mine_, after all."

The possessive edge spiked her voice like an oncoming storm at sea and it made Ichigo smile. It was good to know he had been missed.

However, he didn't miss the sharp, disdainful glance that Nejibana tossed over his shoulder, and he didn't need to crane his head around to know that Tensa Zangetsu was still standing a few feet behind him.

"Nejibana," Ichigo reproached, and it almost startled him when he voice came out stern instead of brash, authoritative instead of just loud.

Nejibana pouted at him. "You are _my_ wielder, _my_ partner."

"Yeah, you are," Ichigo glanced behind him, catching Zangetsu's downcast gaze. "But I guess I'm his too now. I think you're gonna have to learn how to share."

Zangetsu's eyes flew back up, the resigned expression giving way to surprise and fragile hope.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow, levering himself onto his feet with Nejibana's hand cupping his elbow to steady him. "What? You didn't think I was just gonna throw you away, did you?"

A flash of quicksilver fury entered Zangetsu's face. "You were about to do just that before she interrupted, Ichigo."

"'She' has a name," Nejibana retorted swiftly, blue eyes flaring with warning.

Zangetsu ignored her. Ichigo could see this becoming a problem in the future.

At the moment though, he could only grimace, running a hand through his hair. Now, even the thought of losing his powers and effectively cutting himself off from his spirits made him cringe. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I really didn't understand that attack."

He paused, the threat of Aizen surfacing in his mind, it having been momentarily pushed aside from the flood of memories still broiling at the back of his thoughts.

"I still need to stop Aizen though," He said out loud, watching guiltily as Zangetsu's jaw tightened and Nejibana's grip on his arm increased in strength. "And I don't think I can stop him as I am right now."

Nejibana suddenly extended a hand and a swirl of water later, a familiar three-pronged crystalline Zanpakutou appeared.

"Do not think for one moment that I will allow you to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou," Nejibana said scornfully, holding out the trident. "Now that you can finally hear me, I will not let you go again."

She looked again at Zangetsu, and while she still gave the impression of being slightly miffed at having to share soul space now, it was overshadowed by the accompanying determination in her expression. The two seemed to hold a silent conversation for a moment before Zangetsu straightened with a slow nod, firm and resolute as always.

"We will give you everything, Ichigo," Nejibana said as she turned back to him, a hint of steel entering her delicate features. "All the power that you need only to find within yourself. But in return, let us remain where you can hear us. Let us stay by your side."

Ichigo stared from one Zanpakutou to the other, neither looking like they would be yielding any time soon now that they had agreed on a different path.

"And how would I go about defeating Aizen without the Final Getsuga Tenshou?" Ichigo asked at last, crossing his arms. "I assume you have a plan of some sort?"

The trident was thrust forward again and Ichigo automatically curled his hands around it, expertly twirling it once with ease. Nejibana looked highly pleased.

"I will teach you Bankai," She informed him, folding her hands into her sleeves. "In this life as Kurosaki Ichigo, your potential for growth is even greater than it was when you were purely Shiba Kaien; learning Bankai will not be a problem for you, and we still have two months in the Dangai before we must leave."

She paused and her eyes gleamed with innate strength. "Do you not remember, Ichigo? I am the strongest water-based Zanpakutou in all of Soul Society. The very air itself is my domain. In Shikai, you can create water even in the middle of a desert. In Bankai, well..."

A mischievous smirk flitted across her face and a second trident appeared in her hands. "You'll just have to find out for yourself."

Ichigo eyed her for a long moment before glancing over at Zangetsu. The teenaged version of his Zanpakutou stared back, unruffled, yet Ichigo caught the tense line of his shoulders and the rather tight grip he had on his blade.

Ichigo dropped his gaze to his own weapon, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath to ground himself.

He was Kurosaki Ichigo but he was also Shiba Kaien. There were a million and one things he would probably have to take care of after this entire Aizen fiasco was over – Rukia might cry, Ukitake might refuse to let him out of his sight, the Captain-Commander might try to reinstate him – and a few personal things he'd have to see to – he'd like to visit Miyako's grave, and he couldn't allow himself to think about his siblings or he'd most likely rush off to find Kukaku and Ganju right this instant.

But he now had the chance to keep his Shinigami powers and he had Nejibana back. Two Bankai were certainly far more powerful than just one, and even Aizen couldn't destroy water itself. Water was patient, water could wait – Aizen couldn't hope to hold off an advancing tsunami forever, and once Ichigo reached the Hogyoku and destroyed it, the overlord would undoubtedly fall.

Ichigo raised his head and opened his eyes. He hefted his Zanpakutou.

"Let's do this."

**2.**

Ichigo crouched on top of a nearby building, hiding his reiatsu as he watched Gin skewer Aizen through the chest and seize the Hogyoku before shunpoing away, evading a broken arm by a hair in the process.

_Stupid kid_, Ichigo huffed, keeping a wary eye on Aizen as he leapt over the rooftops after the one Shinigami who had shattered his record at the Academy. _He should know better. The Hogyoku's fused with Aizen by now. The thing needs to be destroyed first._

A white blur sped past him before and he spat out a curse, hastily picking up his pace as he darted towards the alleyway Gin had disappeared into.

His right hand dropped to one of the sealed Zanpakutou now attached to his waist on his left side. He drew Nejibana just as he flipped over the edge of the last building, letting gravity drag him downwards and landing him right in front of Gin just as Aizen lashed out with his blade.

Metal sparked against metal as Ichigo deflected the deadly strike, shoving a startled Aizen back several steps before spinning around, grabbing the equally surprised Gin by the collar of his hakama, and disappearing in a blur of flash steps, speeding away from the overlord as fast as possible.

Ichigo only stopped two blocks down, dumping the former captain amongst a pile of rubble before rounding on him.

"Honestly, use your head!" Ichigo barked, keeping his senses on high alert as he felt Aizen advance on them. The power of the Hogyoku at least was unmistakeable. "Where's that genius intellect you were lauded for? Aizen's fused with the Hogyoku; taking him head-on like that is just asking to get killed!"

He paused, taking in the muted shock on Gin's face. The former captain hadn't made any move to get up even as his eyes remained open. They drifted down to the katana in Ichigo's hand and said eyes got significantly wider as recognition dawned in them.

"You-" Gin's head jerked up to stare hard at Ichigo. He couldn't seem to make up his mind on which question to ask first.

Ichigo quirked a mildly amused smile. "Still remember me then? I'm flattered."

Gin scanned his face. "You're... Shiba Kaien?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so," Ichigo glanced over his shoulder before holding out Nejibana, blade pointed downwards. "I'm still Kurosaki Ichigo in some ways and it's who I am now, reincarnation aside."

He turned away, sparing only one last glance at Gin. "It was a good try, but stay put now, got it? I'll take care of things."

Almost dumbly, Gin nodded somewhat robotically, gaze still flickering between Ichigo's face and his katana.

Ichigo shook his head, idly wondering whether or not everyone was going to react this way.

And then Aizen's butterfly form was abruptly visible and fast-approaching, and Ichigo had no more time for humorous speculations.

His eyes narrowed and he began twirling Nejibana, the golden glow sending a rush of warmth coursing through him.

"Rage through the seas and heavens, Nejibana!" Ichigo called out, and some of the joy in his voice was reflected by Nejibana herself as they slipped seamlessly together in their first real fight since before Metastacia.

The katana lengthened into the unique combination of trident, spear, and Chinese halberd, and as the golden light washed away to reveal his Zanpakutou, water gushed out from both ends and exploded around him just as Aizen descended, a maniacal gleam in his eyes as he bore down on Ichigo.

Ichigo didn't back down, and with an upward sweep of Nejibana, an arc of water followed, colliding against Aizen's blade with all the force of a typhoon.

Ah, he'd missed this.

"Impossible!" Aizen snarled out as he regained his footing, arms drenched with water after cleaving the wave in two. "What have you done, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo shrugged calmly even as he slammed the spear-point of Nejibana against the ground, forcing Aizen to leap into the air as geysers of water erupted underneath his feet.

"I woke up," He replied offhandedly as he followed up his previous attack with an upward stab of his trident, shooting three snaking columns of water in Aizen's direction. The overlord sliced through two of them before taking the brunt of the third, his expression twisting into an ugly sneer as he pushed back against the attack.

Ichigo didn't waste this opportunity. He needed to take their fight out of Karakura.

Tilting his Zanpakutou towards the sky, he hurled it straight up into the air. "Soar, Nejibana!"

The trident vanished inside a whirlpool, and seconds later, a sea serpent made entirely of water burst out, slithering through the air in all its majestic glory as it honed in on Aizen. Its jaws yawned open and clamped around the overlord before he could react, and as the serpent glided past, Ichigo took a flying leap into the air and landed on its head.

He crouched down, feeling the rush of water beneath his feet, every ripple and current thrumming against his senses.

"Get us outta here, Nejibana," Ichigo instructed, and Nejibana took off, streaking through the air above the buildings as the serpent carried them away from the town.

**3.**

"Gin!"

Gin glanced up, making no move to get to his feet as a familiar blonde hurtled towards him, always so damn worried about a snake like him. Rangiku really shouldn't bother.

"Are you- Are you alright?" The woman babbled as she skidded to a halt beside him and dropped to her knees, already reaching for his injured arm. "You're not badly injured, are you? I didn't bring any healers with me."

Gin sighed, leaning back against the rock behind him. "I'm fine, Rangiku. ...Why're ya here? Didn' I tell ya ta stay away?"

"Since when have I ever listened to you?" Rangiku shot back, tearing off a piece of her Shihakushou and proceeding to wrap his arm. "I'm taking you back to Seireitei, even if I have to drag you all the way there. And you're going to explain to me right now just why you betrayed everyone!"

Gin heaved another sigh, glancing off in the direction where the Kurosaki boy – no, _Shiba Kaien_, more powerful than Gin could ever remember the former lieutenant being – had stormed off with Aizen.

"Well, guess there's no point hidin' it now," He peered up at Rangiku. "I jus' wanted ta get back what was taken from ya, Rangiku. I though' I could do it this way."

And slowly, quietly, he explained his actions and his motives and his near brush with death when he had tried and failed to kill Aizen Sousuke.

Rangiku was near-white by the time he finished. Gin attempted a smile but it faltered when tears welled up in his childhood friend's eyes.

Inwardly, he panicked. He'd never been good with Rangiku's tears. Outwardly, he cautiously offered, "I'm sorry, Rangiku."

"You _idiot_," She hissed, seizing him by his collar and giving him a rough shake. All things considered, that was rather light. "You did all this when you could've just _told me_ and we could've thought of a different way where it wouldn't end with you getting killed?!"

Gin frowned. He'd never put Rangiku in direct danger like that. He didn't say this out loud, of course.

"I didn' get killed," He pointed out instead, and received another violent shake for his efforts.

"That's not the point!" Rangiku snapped. "If Ichigo-kun hadn't arrived when he did, you would've been! And now we have to convince the Captain-Commander that you aren't really a traitor!"

"Technically, I am," Gin said unhelpfully. "I jus' wasn't on Aizen-taichou's side."

"Well, we can work with that," Rangiku nodded resolutely. "And Ichigo-kun saved you; I'm sure he'd be willing to speak on your behalf if he knew the whole truth. If I ask-"

"We... probably shouldn' ask 'im fer anythin', Rangiku," Gin interrupted, apprehension welling up inside him. "He's not... who he appears ta be."

Rangiku frowned, visibly confused. "What do you mean? Ichigo-kun can be a real sweetheart; you just haven't gotten to know him when you're not on opposite sides of the battlefield."

Gin didn't reply as he glanced once more to where the reincarnation of one of Soul Society's most respected lieutenant had gone. He had never really talked to Shiba Kaien before, but even he knew that the man had been popular – much like Kurosaki Ichigo – and would've grown into as terrifying a Shinigami as captains like Ukitake and Kyouraku if he hadn't died prematurely.

Probably why Aizen had indirectly killed him off.

And now, Kaien had a second chance to become said powerful Shinigami.

Gin recalled the taste of reiatsu that had surged into the open the moment Kaien – or was that still Kurosaki? – had released Nejibana.

So that was what the combined force of two potential Bankai of two powerful Zanpakutou coupled with the Shinigami's own unnaturally high level of reiatsu felt like. It was a mystery why the man hadn't made captain when he had still been alive. Surely Shiba Kaien could've achieved Bankai even back then if he had worked on it?

Still, Kurosaki Ichigo had the combined strength of both his current and past incarnations now.

Gin might've pitied Aizen if he didn't hate him so much.

**4.**

"How is this possible? You should not have any of your past memories!"

Ichigo scoffed as he ducked the ridiculously overpowered blow that Aizen threw at him. He'd been nicked with one earlier and his side now hurt like a bitch. "How would I know? I've always been an anomaly that no one's ever been able to explain."

Whirling in midair, Ichigo danced between the multiple white spikes Aizen sent his way and launched three successive waves in the overlord's direction, following up the assault with deadly thrusts of his trident. It was immensely satisfying when he managed to score a deep gouge in Aizen's side.

Not so satisfying when the Hogyoku instantly started healing the injury.

"Tch, now that's just unfair," Ichigo muttered darkly, pulling back a good distance away as he regrouped.

_"Now, Ichigo!"_ Nejibana interjected urgently. _"While he is still healing. Let's hit him with everything we have."_

Ichigo tightened his grip on his Zanpakutou and nodded silently. He held out his trident, horizontal to the ground tens of feet below, and let go.

Nejibana only fell as far as his feet before seeming to slip into an invisible puddle, sinking soundlessly beneath its surface and out of sight.

Ichigo raised his head and saw Aizen speeding towards him, energy blasts already forming on the top of his wings.

Too late.

"Bankai," Ichigo intoned, just before Aizen's attack struck. "Kishin no Mizuhana."

Ichigo didn't feel the globes of energy hit as his entire body melted into liquid, slipping away into the pool of water beneath his feet that had spread for miles around when he had activated Nejibana's Bankai.

"Looking for me?" Ichigo enquired cockily as he reformed behind Aizen, inwardly exhilarated that his Bankai had worked and he alone could see the currents of water extending outwards from their position every which way. In his mind, Nejibana laughed, wild and untamed as the ocean.

Aizen spun around, eyes widening with rage as his gaze landed on Ichigo.

"Do not be so arrogant, boy!" The overlord snarled and fired off several spheres of blue-black energy, all of them careening towards Ichigo at alarming speeds.

Ichigo was already slipping away by the time the attacks reached his position, and as he dove underwater, following the tug and flow of the tide and finding the best paths through the network of intertwined rivers, he reached for his second Zanpakutou at his waist.

_Ready, Zangetsu?_ Ichigo unsheathed the black-hilted katana.

The reply was swift and sure. _'Always, Ichigo.'_

Ichigo smiled, and then allowed Nejiana to push him upwards, raising him on a pillar of water and placing him directly behind Aizen once more.

"Divine Flower: Imprisonment," Ichigo murmured, holding out his free hand towards Aizen, and the widespread sea beneath him _moved_.

As if a storm had struck, the water rose up with a vengeance, peeling upwards to form monsoons on all sides as Nejibana roared towards the trapped overlord.

The waves smashed together with a thunderous crack, sealing Aizen off in a sphere of water as a liquid flower bloomed above it, every petal serving as a second layer of confinement as they wrapped around the outside of the cage.

"_Hurry, Ichigo!"_ Nejibana called out as dark flashes of energy slammed against the inside of the cage, Aizen already attempting to force his way back out.

Ichigo raised Zangetsu, silver tip pointed straight down as he held his Zanpakutou parallel to his body.

"Darkness falls and the heavens weep," He murmured, and then rotated the katana so that it now pointed upwards. Pure black strands of reiatsu began coiling around the blade. "Blood moon rises and the skies are torn asunder, Tensa Zangetsu!"

His signature red-rimmed black reiatsu flooded the area, and even he had to struggle to reel it under some semblance of control. The longer command, Zangetsu had told him, would jump him straight to Bankai, which would certainly waste less time than going through each step, especially when Aizen was thrashing inside the cage, tearing at the water with deafening explosions of the Hogyoku's power.

"_Ichigo!"_ The strain was evident in Nejibana's voice.

_Open it,_ Ichigo swept his black daitou to the side and raised a hand to his face, throwing on his Hollow mask. _But keep him still!_

The front of the water cage buckled and collapsed, but just as Aizen tried to shunpo out, chains of water snagged him by the wings and arms and legs, locking him down for several precious seconds.

Ichigo let his reiatsu flare as he dashed forward, Zangetsu drawn back.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!"

Ichigo barely paid any mind to the resulting blast that shook the very foundations of the earth below them. He didn't relent, didn't let up until he saw the tip of Zangetsu pierce the Hogyoku, felt the desperate resistance as its power struggled briefly against his Zanpakutou's onslaught, and finally sensed the Hogyoku break under his full frontal attack, the orb shattering into countless pieces as Zangetsu ran the Hogyoku clean through.

Aizen screamed.

Ichigo never heard it as his Hollow mask splintered away and exhaustion crashed into him with the force of a freight train, toppling him out of the sky.

**5.**

Kisuke didn't waste any time as he shunpoed forward and dove into the mess of smoke and falling debris and the white remains of Aizen's transformation, diving down to catch Ichigo before the teen could hit the forest floor, as well as snaggin the two blades plummeting through the air beside them. Another burst of Shunpo brought them safely back to flat ground, and Kisuke carefully laid the Shinigami down before peering up at the remnants of the explosion caused by both Ichigo's attack and the destruction of the Hogyoku.

This was something Kisuke honestly hadn't expected in all the scenarios he had planned out. Best case was would be Ichigo slowing Aizen down enough with the Final Getsuga Tenshou for Kisuke to step in and seal the traitor away.

Yet Aizen was now probably dead or critically injured at the very least, the Hogyoku was destroyed, and...

Kisuke shifted his gaze back to the bright-haired teen he was crouching next to. He absently took off his hat just to have something for his hands to fiddle with as he took in Nejibana lying beside Zangetsu.

This was... unheard of.

Then again, everything about Kurosaki Ichigo seemed unprecedented. The teen did everything his own way. Given an option, if he didn't like it, he'd _make_ another, no matter how impossible.

Let Seireitei execute Kuchiki Rukia. Unacceptable, so Ichigo had invaded Soul Society and saved her instead, turning half the Gotei 13 onto his side in the process.

Let the more experienced Shinigami save Inoue Orihime. They were too slow, so Ichigo had gone and taken Hueco Mundo by storm instead, and his friends, Human and Shinigami alike, had followed him without hesitation.

Learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou to take down Aizen.

And somehow, Nejibana had appeared.

Kisuke sighed and rocked back on his heels. He'd known Shiba Kaien – the man had been several decades older than Kisuke who was even younger than Shinji and around Kukaku's age instead; not a close friend but more than just passing acquaintances too – and frankly, Kurosaki Ichigo had always been a lot like the dead lieutenant; loyal, stubborn, and charismatic, though Ichigo tended to take it several steps further and had raised all three to an art form, to the point where even enemies would falter and align their blades with him.

So if Ichigo was the reincarnation of Kaien and had regained his memories, what would happen now?

Kisuke just hoped Ukitake wouldn't have a heart attack.

A groan pulled him out of his musings and he quickly replaced his hat as Ichigo stirred, eyes fluttering open and looking wholly disoriented.

"Kurosaki-san, how do you feel?" Kisuke enquired cautiously as he reached out to help the teen into a sitting position.

Brown eyes scrutinized him for a moment, focusing only after a few seconds of examination. "Urahara-san, what are you doing here?"

Kisuke snapped open his fan and motioned at the wreckage still tumbling out of the sky. "Well, I _was_ going to help you take care of Aizen-san but you seem to have handled that well enough all by yourself, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo blinked, and then his head jerked around, hands already reaching for his Zanpakutou before he had completely twisted around. Kisuke observed the way one hand landed possessively on Nejibana while the other curled protectively around Zangetsu. Both were sealed once more – something Kisuke hadn't thought he would ever see Ichigo manage.

He cocked his head, and then said casually, "Or would that be Shiba-fukutaichou now?"

Slowly, Ichigo turned and looked at him again, expression settling into something less brash than his usual temperament. "...Not a lieutenant anymore. I died, remember? Think that counts as retirement."

Kisuke released his next breath in a soft whoosh. "So it's true. Reincarnation has a funny way of working out."

Ichigo snorted. "Tell me about it. I'm gonna get killed when Kukaku hears about this."

Kisuke smirked at the thought but shook his head. "Maa, I don't know about that. She's missed you."

Ichigo's brow furrowed. "Yeah, I remember that. She's got a shrine for me and everything. Bit creepy now that I think about it."

Kisuke chuckled. "That's what happens when you die, Kurosaki-san. ...Or would you prefer Shiba-san?"

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo now; I'll stick with that name," Ichigo paused and gave him a sharp once-over. "You've changed. I still remember how nervous you were when you first took up captaincy of the Twelfth."

If Nejibana and the fierce battle Ichigo had waged against Aizen hadn't been enough to convince Kisuke, this definitely was. He quirked a wry smile in Ichigo's direction. "It's been over a century, Kurosaki-san. And I'd like to think I got better after ten years as a captain."

"Yeah, guess so," Ichigo stopped again and rubbed a hand over his face. "Okay, I am disgustingly tired right now but I've got shit to do. Help me up, would ya?"

Kisuke hauled the Shinigami to his feet, steadying him when a momentary sway threatened to drop Ichigo to the ground again.

"What now?" Kisuke enquired as Ichigo bent down and scooped up his Zanpakutou, sliding them through the sash at his waist.

Ichigo stared up at the dissipating smoke. "Well, I'm gonna go find Gin. That little runt almost got himself slaughtered by Aizen."

Kisuke paused, tugging at the brim of his hat. It was bizarre to hear Ichigo call Ichimaru Gin a runt, but to Kaien, Gin really had been practically a kid way back when. "Gin? Isn't he with Aizen-san?"

"No, apparently, he got close to Aizen so that he could kill him," Ichigo shook his head. "That didn't work out so well."

Kisuke could imagine. Aizen wouldn't take betrayal kindly; quite hypocritical of him in Kisuke's opinion.

"Think you could pick up Aizen?" Ichigo asked, scanning their surroundings. "I'm not sure if he's still alive but..."

He shrugged, and Kisuke nodded. If Aizen was alive, then they'd have to bring him back for trial. If he wasn't, then producing a body would put a lot of people at ease.

"I'll get right on it," Kisuke confirmed. "And while we're on the subject of finding people, where's Isshin-san?"

"Ah," Ichigo waved a hand in the general direction of Karakura. "He's unconscious right now. I dropped him off on one of the rooftops. ...And that's just weird – my uncle is now my father. Anyway, could you grab him as well? I don't think he wants Soul Society knowing he's alive."

Kisuke hummed and tucked his fan away. "Alright then, but don't overdo it yourself, Kurosaki-san. The last thing we need is Soul Society's hero in a coma."

Ichigo made a face, so reminiscent of both his current self and his last incarnation that Kisuke almost did a double-take.

"Ugh, don't call me that," Ichigo's features were sombre. "There are no heroes in a war, Urahara-san, you know that."

Kisuke inclined his head in both acknowledgement and apology. He had meant it as a joke, but it probably would've made just-Ichigo scowl and Kaien-Ichigo wouldn't stand for it.

He shunpoed off once Ichigo had left, the teen's steps slightly shaky at first before picking up speed.

Once he found Aizen, he hoped the Captain-Commander would allow him back into Seireitei long enough to see the other Shinigami's faces when Ichigo arrived with Nejibana. Maybe he could bring a camera.

**6.**

Ichigo landed a few feet away from Gin and Matsumoto – _Tenth Division_ _lieutenant now_, his mind supplied as a reminder; his memories were still a little jumbled as everything he knew as Ichigo tried to fit itself with everything he knew as Kaien – and, ignoring the slight wobble in his steps, he strode forward towards the two Shinigami.

"Ichigo-kun!" Matsumoto greeted him semi-cheerfully, looking like she could use a trip to the Fourth and a week's worth of bed rest. "How did the battle go? Where's Aizen?"

Ichigo gestured back the way he had come. "Dead or dying; Urahara-san is looking for him now. And the Hogyoku's been destroyed."

For a moment, both Shinigami looked mildly stunned. Matsumoto had clearly not expected Aizen to have been completely defeated just like that, and Gin had slitted open his eyes to inspect him more closely.

"He's- He's gone?" Matsumoto asked faintly. "He's really gone?"

"Yeah," Ichigo crouched down in front of them, assessing their injuries. "Now I think I should get you both to a healer as soon as possible. You look like crap."

Matsumoto pouted, crossing her arms under her breasts. "I'm offended! That's no way to talk to a lady, you know."

Ichigo smirked back. "I'll be sure not to when I'm in the company of one."

The blonde looked taken aback for a second. Ichigo knew why – he'd probably be stammering an apology right now if he hadn't regained his memories; his teenaged self had been hopeless with women like Matsumoto when they teased him.

Surprise gave way to delight as Matsumoto laughed. "You're learning, Ichigo-kun! Too bad; here I thought I could get in at least a few more years of..."

She trailed off when she finally caught sight of the two swords at his waist, and puzzlement entered her expression. "That's not Kyouka Suigetsu. And I can't sense any reiatsu from you. Have you done something, Ichigo-kun?"

Ichigo blinked and then eased back on the suppression of his reiatsu. "Ah, sorry about that. Habit."

Matsumoto cocked her head. "Habit? You've always gone around with no reiatsu control! And you've never sealed your-"

She stopped again and stared hard at the second blade at his hip, a vague, distant memory stirring in her eyes. "Wait, isn't that...? Ichigo-kun, what-?"

Ichigo swept a mock bow. "Shiba Kaien at your service, Matsumoto. Kinda late, but congrats on making lieutenant. I don't think you were quite there yet when I was still in office."

Ichigo highly enjoyed the gobsmacked look on Matsumoto's face. He heard Nejibana's chime-like giggles and even a low chuckle from Zangetsu. He thought even his Hollow might've cackled in the distance.

The blonde stared for another five seconds as if waiting for the punch line, but when none was forthcoming, she rounded on Gin.

"Is this what you meant?" Matsumoto demanded, jabbing a finger in Ichigo's direction. "When you said Ichigo-kun isn't who he appears to be? Why didn't you tell me?!"

Gin offered a slightly strained smile. "Would ya have believed me?"

"Yes! No!" Matsumoto huffed and glanced back at Ichigo. "Maybe. ...How did you...?"

Ichigo patted Nejibana's hilt. "Heard Nejibana's voice. Finally. I'd be out cold and on my way to losing all my Shinigami powers if it wasn't for her."

Matsumoto shook her head, looking dazed. "Well, either all this is true or that concussion Kira-kun warned me about is actually as serious as he made it sound."

"Ya have a concussion?" Gin interrupted, slanting a sidelong look at Matsumoto.

Matsumoto waved a dismissive hand in the air, still watching Ichigo intently. "I'm fine; don't worry about it. ...Prove it."

Ichigo arched an eyebrow. A challenging glint entered Matsumoto's eyes. "Prove you're Shiba Kaien. Summon your Hell Butterfly."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. Hell Butterfly. Those were the black butterflies used for communication and travelling between Soul Society and the Human World.

He frowned and half-turned away, the knowledge of _how_ floating just out of reach.

_"You know how,"_ Nejibana admonished. _"Stop trying to push for knowledge you already have. Just reach out and do it."_

Slowly, he unsheathed Nejibana and slid the Zanpakutou forward into the lock between worlds, the way the blade clicked echoing in the depths of his memories.

Yes, he knew how.

A set of shouji doors appeared, sliding open to reveal a waiting room. Another door beyond it opened, and a single midnight black Hell Butterfly fluttered through, elegant wings beating a path towards him.

Easy as breathing.

He lowered his sword and watched in silence as the butterfly flapped once around his head in a lazy swoop before landing on his shoulder, one wing brushing against his cheek as if welcoming him home.

Up to this point, a part of him had remained detached from the very real fact that he had once been Shiba Kaien. Oh, he knew it in his mind – after all, he had Nejibana as hard proof, and his fight with Aizen had told him that he was her true wielder – but a part of his heart had pushed that knowledge away, because if it was true (and it was, because this Hell Butterfly proved that he had once been and technically still was registered in the Gotei 13, even if he had taken a rather long leave of absence), then it had been over half a century since Metastacia had killed him (because no matter what anyone said, it hadn't been Rukia, and he'd have to make sure that his old protégé didn't still blame herself even though Kukaku had forgiven her), over half a century since he'd been lieutenant of the Thirteenth, over half a century since-

Since Miyako had died.

Something stung in his eyes as he stared sightlessly ahead, the gate waiting patiently in front of him.

Over half a century.

It felt longer than that and much shorter at the same time.

"Shiba... -fukutaichou?"

Ichigo blinked, forcing back the tears that had involuntarily crawled their way into his eyes before turning to face the other Shinigami in the vicinity. He'd forgotten about them.

Matsumoto was standing now, Gin slightly slouched beside her but also on his feet. The blonde's expression had taken on a mildly apprehensive cast as if she had just realized that maybe borderline-accusing a former lieutenant – who had been a seated officer before she had even left the Academy and probably would've gone on to become a captain if he hadn't been killed – of not being himself had probably not been the greatest of ideas.

Lucky for her, Ichigo had never placed much stock in proper etiquette when they were outside of battle.

"Ichigo," He reminded her, letting a smile cross his face. "I'm Kurosaki Ichigo now. And don't bother with anything else. I'm not exactly a lieutenant anymore either."

He paused and grinned. "Rukia's almost ready to take my place. I think I'll ask her for a spar later."

The line of Matsumoto's shoulders relaxed and she smiled back. "You've seen her fight, Ichigo-kun."

"Not full-out, I haven't," Ichigo denied, glancing back at the gateway. "Let's get going. What's our story here?"

Matsumoto noticeably brightened, and she towed Gin forward as she hastily summarized everything her childhood friend had presumably told her.

"Ya don' have ta do anythin'," Gin interjected when Matsumoto finished, ignoring the way she glared at him. "I was prepared fer the consequences a long time ago."

"Gin!"

Ichigo waved a hand, one foot already in the gate as his butterfly took flight once more. "Oh there'll be consequences alright, you don't have to worry about that, but a lifetime's sentence in Muken is going a bit far, don't you think? And you'll have a one-way ticket there if we let Central 46 and the old man think you were completely on Aizen's side."

Even Gin paled imperceptibly at this and Matsumoto looked almost sick.

Ichigo tilted his head at the gate. "Now come on. I still have to help with cleanup, and I need to make sure Taichou's alright. Last I heard, that shitty brat impaled him with an arm."

"That'd be Wonderweiss," Gin told him, stepping carefully through the gate after Ichigo. The former captain's own Hell Butterfly had obviously been revoked so without an official Shinigami with him, the Dangai would undoubtedly suck him in. "I never did like that kid. He just wouldn' shut up. And _Tousen_ liked him."

Ichigo grunted, stifling a startled bark of laughter. Still, it rubbed him the wrong way that his captain had been attacked from behind and he hadn't been there to watch the man's back. He probably would've rushed off to hunt that particular Arrancar down right now if the Captain-Commander hadn't already killed him.

And speaking of the Captain-Commander, he'd have to continue his personal campaign on making the old man's life hell. He'd never agreed with the decision to exile Urahara, imprison Tessai, and execute the Hollowfied Shinigami, but he hadn't found out about it until after everything had gone down. Kyouraku had been distraught when he had woken up the next morning and had discovered what had happened to his lieutenant, but he and Ukitake were Yamamoto's former students and hadn't been able to put up much of a fight beyond several heated arguments that had all been swiftly shot down by the Captain-Commander, not to mention that all the convicts had been long gone by then. Yamamoto had insisted that they were most likely dead already and the only search party that he had agreed to send out had been a group sent to assassinate the runaways. _That_ had quickly made Ukitake and Kyouraku back down.

But Ichigo had had no such bonds with the old man, not to mention he had been good friends with Lisa, and on speaking terms with the rest of the Visored. He had only been a lieutenant though so it wasn't as if he could take Yamamoto head-on.

In the end, he'd tried digging into Aizen's testimony of what had happened that night, even going so far as to track down and break into Aizen's secret labs in North Rukongai, and then snoop through some of the captain's papers that he'd been able to get his hands on.

It had taken him a grand total of forty-two years of clandestine investigation and meticulous compilation of all the facts and theories he'd put together himself, and shortly before the mission that had killed his wife, he'd stumbled on a gold mine of information on the Hogyoku and the Hollowfication process that corroborated all the proof he had accumulated over the years, as well as a list of the Shinigami-turned-Visored's names, all tabbed with Aizen's assessments and data of the experiment they had unknowingly been forced into.

Frankly, it had been horrifying to read.

He'd made copies though, and he'd planned to deliver the notes straight to Ukitake, but the assignment Miyako had received had distracted him, and then she'd come back _dead_ and any thoughts besides revenge had fled his mind after that.

But now that he was level-headed enough to think about it, everything had been way too convenient. Aizen had probably learned about what he'd been up to and had set plans in motion to get rid of him.

His hands clenched as the light of the Senkaimon grew brighter up ahead. That bastard had just had to pull Miyako into it too. Ichigo should've been more cautious.

Heck, he _had_ been cautious. He hadn't told anyone about what he'd been doing, not even his own captain, partly so that there would be no chance of anyone eavesdropping, but also so that all the people he cared about would be able to truthfully deny any involvement in his not-so-legal activities if he was ever brought up on charges.

Ichigo was supposed to have fallen alone if Aizen or anyone else had ever found out.

Yet he'd still dragged Miyako down with him.

With effort, he yanked his thoughts away from the pit of guilt lodged at the bottom of his heart. It was over now, and he'd even gotten to kill Aizen with his own two hands. He'd gotten his revenge.

Nobody ever said revenge made everything okay again though.

**7.**

"But-!"

"It's fine, It's fine, don't worry about it! I'll keep a close eye on him, but he can't stand trial if he's dead, you know?"

Rangiku watched with no little astonishment as Ichigo clapped a hand on Gin's shoulder and charmed his way through the group of unseated officers scattered out in front of them and currently serving as their welcoming committee.

The Kurosaki Ichigo she knew would've yelled most of the Shinigami down and threatened the rest by waving his sword in their faces.

But this was no longer _just_ Ichigo; Shiba Kaien was in there too, and wasn't that mind-boggling to think about? Rangiku knew how the reincarnation process worked; souls weren't supposed to remember their past lives once they'd been cycled through. It was supposed to be a brand-new start.

"We'll be going now!" Ichigo cheerfully saluted the bewildered officers around them with two fingers before marching off towards the Fourth.

Rangiku sent a wink and an appreciative smile in the direction of a few who still seemed torn between standing back and stopping their progress, and like she'd expected, all of them flushed red and remained in their spots.

Too easy.

As she fell into step beside Gin, confused whispers of why Ichigo now had two swords followed them down the street.

"Ichigo-kun, don't you think you should hide Nejibana?" Rangiku suggested.

Ichigo blinked at her, one hand dropping onto said Zanpakutou's hilt as his expression turned indignant. "Why? I'm not ashamed of her."

Rangiku smothered a laugh. "That's very sweet of you but you need to work on your subtlety. We're going to bump into someone who will recognize Nejibana sooner or later, and word will be all over Seireitei before you can get to Ukitake-taichou."

Realization dawned on the former lieutenant's face but he only scratched his head. "Good point, but I don't have so much as a coat to throw on top. I'll borrow something from the Fourth once we get there."

Rangiku nodded, and didn't speak again for a while as she watched Ichigo stare at everything with an expression that would've seemed more fitting on a man dying of thirst before being presented with a glass of water.

She couldn't imagine what it would be like to die and then be reborn as someone else but also the same person several decades later.

"Coming through!" Ichigo suddenly spoke up as they reached the entrance to the Fourth.

The Shinigami on gate duty, unfortunately short and looking increasingly nervous as Ichigo loomed over at him, stuttered out, "We- We can't just allow an enemy to enter."

Ichigo frowned, which only served to make the officer shrink back. "If Unohana-san gets mad at you, just say it's my fault and I bullied you into accepting him. Now we need a private room, and don't go gossiping about this with your friends, okay?"

The Shinigami hesitated, and then jumped and scurried away when Ichigo barked, "Go!"

Rangiku gave up and burst into giggles. "Ichigo-kun, I think he was just about to salute you."

"I don't need him to salute me," Ichigo grumbled, scowling harder than ever. "You're barely staying on your feet and Gin over here's injured too. You'd think Unohana-san would've drilled it into their heads by now that lives come before regulations. At least that was how it worked half a century ago. Most of the time."

Rangiku took a heartbeat longer than necessary to reply, a spontaneous smile curving her lips. "That's why they're _unseated_ officers. The seated ones know better. Unohana-taichou runs a tight ship, but she believes that the newer blood in her Division should figure out what's most important for themselves.

"Learned that from Isane-chan," She added when even Gin raised an eyebrow at her.

A different officer from before hurried up to them as they rounded a corner and ushered them to the requested private room, two beds already made up.

"We can wheel in a third for you, Kurosaki-san," The Shinigami said earnestly, but Ichigo shook his head. "It's fine; I don't need it. Could you bring some food for these two though? And as soon as someone's free or your captain gets back, please send them here to look them over."

The officer bobbed his head and scampered off with a "Yes, sir!" thrown in for good measure.

Rangiku sighed in amusement at the somewhat bemused expression on Ichigo's face as she pushed Gin onto one of the beds before sitting down on the other one. "You may not be a lieutenant anymore, Ichigo-kun, but you're giving off that vibe."

Ichigo threw his hands up. "Whatever. Matsumoto, how were the captains and Visored doing after I threw Aizen out of there?"

Rangiku blinked at the sudden turnabout but answered after a moment of fishing through all the fighting that had been going on above her in the fake Karakura Town.

"They were still moving," She recalled. "All of them were injured but alive. That female Espada might've survived too. I'm not sure what happened after Aizen attacked her."

Ichigo hummed noncommittally as Gin sprawled out on the bed, legs dangling over the edge and looking for all the world like he wasn't a Captain-Commander's return away from being thrown in jail.

"Hmm, Starrk died after all," Her childhood friend smiled up at the ceiling. Rangiku could tell it was fake. Most of his smiles were. "Pity. He was one of the few who didn' get on my nerves."

"Which one's Starrk?" Ichigo enquired, leaning against the wall by the door.

"The Primera," Gin shrugged. "Ah well, he was goin' up against Kyouraku, so I'm not surprised."

Rangiku couldn't argue with that. She didn't know of anyone besides the Captain-Commander who could defeat one of Soul Society's strongest Shinigami.

Except maybe Ichigo. She'd _felt_ the tremors from the battle he had engaged in against Aizen, and Gin had told her that Ichigo had brought the fight entirely out of Karakura. Not to mention-

"Ichigo-kun, are you injured?" Rangiku straightened, scanning the bright-haired Shinigami with concern. "I forgot to ask."

Ichigo waved a flippant hand. "Cuts and bruises, already healing. I'm mostly just tired."

"Then you should sit," Rangiku insisted, casting around for a chair.

"If I sit, I don't think I'm gonna get up again for a week," Ichigo said dryly, and Rangiku got the feeling that he wasn't exaggerating by much. There was a strain around his eyes that was only visible once she looked at him more closely. "And I don't wanna conk out before Taichou gets back. Do you know how he was before you left?"

Rangiku bit her lip. She had been so worried about Gin that she'd hurried off without really checking her surroundings. "I'm not sure, but Ukitake-taichou is strong, and Kyouraku-taichou didn't seem too worried after his fight with the Primera."

"Brings up the question of why they aren't back yet then," Gin pointed out, and Rangiku would've whacked him for his insensitivity if Ichigo didn't look like he actually wanted the cold hard truth right now. "Ya brought Unohana-taichou back with ya, and she was healin' that Visored girl. She should've gotten around ta Ukitake-taichou already."

Ichigo scrubbed a hand over his face, his exhaustion accentuating for a moment as his forehead scrunched as if warding off a migraine. Rangiku was suddenly struck by the question of whether or not remembering everything about a past life would have adverse effects on the mind, especially when Ichigo probably hadn't had much time to sit down and process it all.

But she could also understand the worry almost all lieutenants would have for their captains when they were injured. If Hitsugaya had been run through by some snot-nosed kid who had almost taken them all out with Ryuujin Jakka's flames, she wouldn't be able to rest either until she had, preferably, Unohana's guarantee that he would make a full recovery.

(At the back of her mind, she thought it rather strange that she was already treating Ichigo like a fellow lieutenant – stranger still because he could easily make captain right now what with taking down Aizen and all – but it was hard not to when she could actually see the reincarnated version of Kaien slipping back into his role as if he had never stopped.)

"Go," Rangiku motioned at the door when Ichigo arched a questioning eyebrow at her. "You haven't really seen your captain in over fifty years now so you might as well go see that he's alright. And I suppose you don't have to worry about covering Nejibana up now."

Oddly enough, Ichigo continued to linger, and Rangiku only realized why when a knock at the door sounded and Ichgo's hand instantly dropped to his swords.

"Yeah? Oh, is that the food? Great, thanks!" Ichigo had positioned himself squarely in the doorway after opening the door and received the tray of food from whoever it was on the other side, closing to door again all without letting the Shinigami get a good look inside.

Ichigo was protecting them. Or, more specifically, Gin.

Because he had said he would.

Rangiku really shouldn't be surprised. _That_ was a universal fact for both Kurosaki Ichigo and, from what she'd heard from the people who used to know him, Shiba Kaien.

But that was unfair to Ichigo.

"You don't need to stay, Ichigo-kun," Rangiku said firmly as she accepted the tray and placed it on the bedside table. "Get going. I won't let anyone make it past that door. I _am_ a lieutenant, you know, and nobody at the Fourth is going to come in here and arrest Gin. It's just not the way they do things."

Ichigo straightened, glancing at Gin and evidently weighing his options.

Gin cracked open one eye. "I can see why those friends of yours invaded Soul Society with ya and followed ya all the way ta Hueco Mundo. And Orihime-chan was always very adamant that ya were goin' ta save her."

Ichigo looked thrown for a moment, and then embarrassment tinged his features as one hand rubbed the back of his head. "Well my friends are Inoue's friends as well; they all wanted to get her back."

"And Rukia-chan?" Gin half-taunted. Rangiku kicked him. Gin shot her a long-suffering look but left off and leaned back again. "We'll be fine here. I'm sure I can defend myself against a few unseated officers."

The last bit held a mocking edge to it but Rangiku figured it was the best anyone was going to get out of Gin. She turned back to Ichigo who was in the process of rolling his eyes.

"Shoo!" Rangiku waved at the door. "We may be injured but we can take care of ourselves."

Ichigo studied her for a second long before nodding at last. "Thanks, Matsumoto. Gin, don't do anything stupid. Listen to what Matsumoto says."

And then he was gone, leaving Rangiku to smirk widely at the exasperated expression on Gin's face that her long-time friend couldn't quite hide behind his signature smile.

"You heard him. Now eat; and you're to stay in bed until Unohana-taichou or Isane-chan gets here."

"Have ya both forgotten that I'm actually a captain?"

Rangiku scoffed as she dumped the tray into Gin's lap. "Not anymore. Now eat."

Grudgingly, Gin sat up and reached for the soup spoon.

_All things considered_, Matsumoto thought as she picked up her own bowl of soup. _Today could've gone a lot worse._

**8.**

Ichigo waited impatiently for the shouji doors to materialize, leaping out before they were even fully opened. He dropped several feet to the ground, staggered as a wave of vertigo washed over him, and then regained his footing a second later, shaking his head to clear it.

Shit, he really needed to rest, and his side was killing him. It was lucky that he wore a black Shihakushou.

"Ichigo?"

Ichigo breathed in through his nose, steadying himself before turning to face the familiar voice. "Hirako, good to see you're alive."

Hirako was alive alright, and he, along with most of the other Visored, were staring from Ichigo to the gateway above them and then to the Hell Butterfly disappearing back into it now that it's job was done.

"What are you doing with that Zanpakutou?" Lisa's voice was as sharp as her katana and suddenly ten times more venomous than Gin's blade.

But Ichigo was far too used to her more vicious moods to get fazed by this, not to mention too damn tired.

"I'm carrying it," He replied evenly, gaze shifting to take her in with new eyes. Before he had remembered, Lisa had just been the manga-loving Visored with a violent temperament when provoked. Now all he saw was his paperwork buddy when they had been forced to pull all-nighters because Ukitake had been sick and Kyouraku had just been too lazy. "Seeing as it's mine."

Lisa shot to her feet, eyes blazing. "Kurosaki, that's Nejibana! I'd know that Zanpakutou anywhere! You-"

In one smooth motion, Ichigo drew Nejibana and twirled it in his right hand. "Rage through the seas and heavens, Nejibana."

For the second time that day, his Zanpakutou sprang to life in his hands, water curling around him through the air as he summoned his trident.

Thunderstruck silence met him as he hefted Nejibana, balancing it casually against his shoulder as he watched the rapid-fire emotions flash across Lisa's face.

"That's impossible," When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. She shook her head. "I don't believe-"

Ichigo sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he dredged up memories from over a century ago.

"There was that day," He said at last, opening his eyes again to stare steadily at the former lieutenant. "Summer I think, and it was the one time Kyouraku-taichou tried to hide his sake in the back of your closet thinking you'd never check there when you cleaned out his stores, and, of course, when you did, you beat his head in with Haguro Tonbo because one of the bottles had spilled onto your clothes. You even managed to send him to the Fourth, though I think he keeled over on purpose after the first ten hits just so he could get out of doing the paperwork. Again."

Lisa's eyes were huge behind her glasses and her mouth had dropped open. The others all seemed to be holding their breaths, still trying to register what was going on.

"...Only Kaien was there at the time," Lisa said at last, voice croaky now. "Besides Kyouraku-taichou, and I never told him about the sake spilling onto my clothes either. I just yelled at him for going into my room at all-"

Her voice cracked and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

Ichigo nodded, eyes softening as Lisa visibly struggled to keep her tears at bay. She'd been like a younger sister to him all those years ago; it had been wholly impossible not to grow close what with their respective captains being best friends.

He absently sealed Nejibana again as his gaze drifted to the others. Rose and Love had never been friends exactly but he'd shared more than a few words with them over the years. He knew Kensei and Mashiro slightly better, especially Mashiro, along with Hachi whom the former had always been good friends with.

Hiyori – and Ichigo could breathe a sigh of relief when the volatile blonde looked to be resting now instead of in pain – was the amusing lieutenant who tended to give both Hirako and Urahara a whole lot of grief during their tenure.

And Hirako he knew better than all the rest sans Lisa because the former captain had often visited the Eighth to share a bottle of sake with Kyouraku and sometimes Ukitake, and Ichigo had probably spent almost as much time in the Eighth Division barracks as he did in the Thirteenth.

Most of them still looked stunned, though Mashiro only looked inquisitive and about two seconds away from bouncing forward to poke at Ichigo or something, while Hirako was staring at him with shrewd brown eyes, none of his usual humour anywhere in sight.

"How?" It was Kensei who spoke next, still somewhat dumbfounded but recovering. "How's this possible? When did you realize?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I have no idea how – I guess I can't even go through reincarnation the proper way. And I heard Nejibana calling me right before I..."

He trailed off, automatically glancing down at Zangetsu. "Right before I was going to learn something that I'd probably regret sometime down the road, a technique that would've lost me all my reiryoku."

More than one person blanched.

"Why the hell would you learn something like that?" Kensei demanded.

Ichigo gave him a pointed look. "Aizen? War? Hogyoku? Ring any bells?"

Kensei glowered at him. "Then what the hell did you do instead?"

Ichigo smiled faintly. "Nejibana taught me Bankai. It's really cool."

A snort came from Hirako, and Ichigo glanced at him in time to see the sobriety melt back into a carefree grin. "Careful, your teenaged self is bleedin' through, Ichigo."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Technically, I'm still Kurosaki Ichigo, which means I'm only sixteen. Give me a break."

Hirako snickered but his grin faded and the seriousness returned. "And Aizen? Did ya win?"

"Would I be here if I didn't?" Ichigo retorted, running a weary hand through his hair. "Yeah, I won. Bastard's either dead or dying. Urahara-san's looking for him right now. And the Hogyoku's been destroyed."

Mashiro whooped as relief descended on the group, all of them suddenly standing taller as if a weight had dropped from their shoulders.

Ichigo only had time to quirk another smile before it abruptly dropped off his face when a hand came out of nowhere and slapped him, the resulting smack sending him sprawling to the ground.

"The hell, woman?!" He bellowed, one hand probing at his throbbing cheek as he scrambled back from the enraged woman towering over him. "What did I do?!"

"You _idiot_!" She spat out, hands on her hips as she all but breathed fire. "You brainless, moronic imbecile! _I_ survived Hollowfication _and_ exile while you got yourself killed by a Hollow! What's your excuse?!"

Ichigo stared up at her, understanding dawning on him. His back had hit a large piece of rubble, and figuring that he wouldn't be getting anywhere fast without Lisa chasing him down, he settled for slumping against the rock.

"You heard about that, did you?" Ichigo started resignedly. "...It was a tough Hollow."

Lisa gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look. She wasn't the only one.

"Shiba Kaien – _you_ were one of the strongest lieutenants Soul Society had ta offer," Hirako commented, taking a seat on another broken piece of debris. "It came as a surprise for all of us when Yoruichi heard from your sister that you'd been killed."

Ichigo's mouth twisted into a bitter line. "You could say I wasn't at my best when I fought it."

"Bullshit!" Lisa snapped, crossing her arms. "You can be a hothead when you're dealing with your subordinates or getting into a fight with someone at the Eleventh but you're always reliable in battle.

"And I don't mean that as a compliment," She tacked on irritably when Ichigo arched an eyebrow at her. "I'm just stating a fact."

Ichigo sighed, scowling off to the side. "...It's name was Metastacia."

"What does that have to do with-"

"It was the same Hollow that killed Miyako two days before she was brought back to me," Ichigo finished quietly, his gaze focused somewhere on the horizon.

Lisa closed her mouth so fast that Ichigo would be surprised if she hadn't bitten her tongue.

"Who is Miyako?" Rose enquired tentatively when even Hirako's expression sobered with sympathy.

"Ichigo's- or, well, Kaien's wife," Hirako clarified when Ichigo didn't respond. The former captain caught his eye. "I didn't know she'd died as well. I'm sorry."

Ichigo grunted noncommittally, shaking off the bout of melancholy threatening to drag him under. "I'm still coming to terms with it myself. Half of me felt like it happened half a century ago, which I think is the normal part of me. The other half feels like it happened a few days ago."

"Understandable," Hirako nodded briskly. "Ya need time ta actually sit down and think about it. What with Aizen runnin' around, I'm sure ya haven't had the chance. ...By the way, I'm guessin' ya wanna go by Ichigo now instead of Kaien?"

Ichigo shrugged. "If that's alright, yeah. I've been going by Kurosaki Ichigo for sixteen years now. I'm used to it. Mostly. Might still answer if you call me Kaien but that's going to get confusing fast."

Hirako smirked. "I can imagine. Ichigo it is then; think it'll be harder for most people ta get used to you bein' Kaien more than the other way around. Ya still look like Ichigo after all, though you've probably heard people sayin' ya look a lot like Kaien too."

Ichigo nodded in agreement, and then flicked his gaze up warily when Lisa advanced on him. "Uh, if you're gonna hit me again, could I have a three-second head-start?"

Lisa glared at him. "No."

And just as Ichigo braced himself for another slap, the former lieutenant surged forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug.

Ichigo froze in surprise, arms hovering over her back as he shot an alarmed look in Hirako's direction. The blond only grinned widely and mouthed, 'You're on your own.'

Ichigo sighed and forced the tension from his frame before slinging an arm around Lisa's waist. "Missed you too, Lisa."

Lisa said nothing – it wasn't her way to be overly emotional; the hug was already cutting it close – but her arms tightened around him and it was several minutes before she released him.

"Right, so," Ichigo patted Lisa on the shoulder and pretended not to notice the way she was blinking rather rapidly. "I came here to find my captain. Is Unohana-san still working on him?"

"Last we heard, yeah," Hirako nodded to the left. "They're down that way. Kyouraku's still here as well, but the old man left with the rest a few minutes before ya got here. Think they needed ta get back and check the damage in the real Karakura."

Ichigo nodded. "Better for me then. I don't want to hash out my identity here."

He braced a hand against the floor and made to push himself to his feet, only to swear when his limbs betrayed him and he collapsed back to the ground again, gasping for breath as his entire left side seared with blinding agony.

"Ichigo!"

"I'm fine," He wheezed, trying to ward off all the hands plucking at his Shihakushou. "Aizen got in a lucky shot earlier."

Hirako's voice, firm with the expectancy of obedience, overrode everyone else's. "Alright, give him some air. Ichigo, I need ta check that over. Hands off."

Ichigo attempted a feeble protest which was easily batted away by Hirako before the former captain's deft fingers peeled back the torn folds of his Shihakushou.

Hisses sounded from all around, and Ichigo heard Hirako inform him in sardonic tones, "If this is what ya call fine, I'd hate ta see what ya'd call fatal."

"Hey, I died," Ichigo rasped as lightly as he could under the circumstances. "I know fatal pretty damn well."

"Point taken," Hirako snorted, and Ichigo managed to peel his eyelids up enough to watch as the former captain began pouring healing Kidou into the bloody gash in his side.

"I'm nowhere near as good as Unohana-san; I only know the basics," Hirako warned. "But I doubt you're gonna hop off ta the Fourth if I tell ya ta."

Ichigo instantly objected, struggling to sit up even as Lisa whacked him upside the head and told him to stay still. "No! I have to get to Taichou!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Hirako groused, pressing harder against Ichigo's injury and making him wince. "This'll have ta do for now so stay still! Geez, you're still as stubborn as ever."

"Kurosaki Ichigo alone has stubbornness to spare," Ichigo reminded him loftily.

Hirako scoffed. "Ya got that right. Whoopee for the rest of us who've gotta look after your ass. Take better care of yourself, idiot."

Ichigo subsided at that, scowling silently instead. Technically, he was around Hirako's age but the former captain had a way of reprimanding him that made him feel like an unruly kid.

"Alright, that's the best patch job you're gonna get from me," Hirako announced a few minutes later. "C'mon, I'll shunpo ya over."

Ichigo made a face but allowed Hirako to help him to his feet as Lisa came up onto his other side and clamped a secure arm around his waist.

"Kensei, carry Hiyori," Hirako instructed. "We're stickin' together."

And before Ichigo could do more than glance at Hiyori, Hirako and Lisa were shunpoing away, supporting Ichigo on either side.

**9.**

Shunsui glanced up distractedly, hand automatically falling to his Zanpakutou when he felt a group of people approach. He was tired, he had killed someone today that he hadn't particularly wanted to kill, he wished for nothing more than to crash on his couch with a good bottle of sake, and his nerves were just about stretched to their breaking point because Retsu was taking a damn long time to stabilize his best friend.

Yeah, it had been a long day.

And then Lisa was there (which was pretty much the only thing that Shunsui had been happy about over the past twenty-four hours), along with the other Visored and-

"Ichigo-kun," Shunsui quickly scanned the boy draped between Lisa and Shinji, looking for any signs of injury. The left side just below the rib cage looked bad but not critical. "What happened? Where's Aizen?"

"Gone," Ichigo grunted, squirming away from his two live crutches. "Dead or dying. Urahara-san's looking for his remains. Hogyoku's gone too. War's over."

And before Shunsui could fully process the startlingly prompt but certainly appreciated answers, Ichigo had lurched forward, almost falling flat on his face as he half-crumpled to the ground beside Shunsui, one hand extending but not quite touching as it hovered above Juushirou's shoulder.

"Taichou?" Ichigo barely seemed to notice anything else as his gaze darted frantically between Retsu and Juushirou. "Is he gonna be alright? You'll be able to fix him, right?"

Retsu glanced up, clearly puzzled by the boy's degree of worry. Shunsui was as well. Since when had Ichigo gotten so close to Juushirou?

"He is already stabilizing, Kurosaki-san," Retsu confirmed serenely. "For the most part, he is out of danger."

Ichigo's shoulders slumped with overwhelming relief and his hand finally dropped to Juushirou's shoulder. His face was still paler than usual but some of the strain seeped out of his features.

Shunsui frowned in consternation, examining the boy more closely, and then did a double-take when he finally registered what was different besides the longer hair.

There were two swords at Ichigo's waist.

That wasn't the shocking part.

One of them was Nejibana.

Shunsui stared.

What?

_What?_

He opened his mouth with absolutely no clue what he was going to say when a kick to the head almost made him face-plant to the side, and his concentration shifted to Lisa instead.

"Leave him alone," She ordered, glasses flashing when a ray of sunshine reflected off of them. "He's worried enough about his captain that he dragged his ass all the way here after his showdown against Aizen."

With tremendous effort (like he'd said, it had been a long day), Shunsui dragged his thoughts together, shifted a little ways away from the group of three, and glanced at each of the Visored's faces. "'His captain'?"

"He's the reincarnation of Shiba Kaien," Shinji revealed bluntly and without fanfare.

Shunsui waited several seconds to see if the former captain was being serious, and then, when everyone remained unsmiling, he turned shakily back to Ichigo. He noticed the unnaturally still expression on Retsu's face and knew that she was probably as shocked as he was.

The reincarnation of Shiba Kaien.

Ichigo was Kaien.

They'd all thought that the similar looks were just coincidence, that the identical moral traits and the parallel physical habits were just-

Coincidence.

There was no faking the look of single-minded concern on Ichigo's face though. Kaien had worn that same expression whenever Juushirou's illness had taken a turn for the worse. Half the time, the lieutenant had even brought his paperwork to Juushirou's bedside whenever the captain had been laid out and suffering, keeping one eye on the man's condition while he had gone through sheet after sheet of forms and notices and reports, not all of it his either. Kaien had done both the lieutenant's work and half the captain's work as well.

"Kaien?" Shunsui murmured almost without thought.

Ichigo blinked and glanced back at him, looking slightly bleary-eyed. "I prefer Ichigo now, Taichou, but yeah. It's been a while."

What exactly was he supposed to say to that?

Shunsui shook his head and laughed a little, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "Juu-chan is going to have a heart attack."

Ichigo snorted softly, a small grin stretching his lips.

Kaien's grin. Ichigo's grin.

Shunsui had been wrong. Lisa alive and well wasn't the only thing he was happy about today.

Though Aizen's downfall merited a footnote too.

"Welcome back," He said warmly. He didn't need to know the hows or whys; all he could think of was how happy Juushirou and Rukia were going to be. Hell, the entire Thirteenth Division would probably throw a party.

Now if only there was some way he could convince Yama-ji to rescind the whole Visored being executed sentence so that Shunsui might get a chance of convincing Lisa to come back after begging for forgiveness (he wasn't below grovelling, especially when it was necessary). Nanao would undoubtedly step aside for her – his second lieutenant had always idolized Lisa, and Hollowfication had never changed that.

If they managed all that, Shunsui would be the happiest man in the world.

**10.**

"Everyone! Y- You must get away from here quickly! Kurotsuchi-taichou is going to activate the Tenkai Kecchu any minute now! It's dangerous here!"

Ichigo, still huddled beside Ukitake but chin dipping against his collar bone as he dozed off, jerked awake at the sound of Sasakibe's voice.

Across from him, Unohana glanced up with a slight frown, her hands still glowing green. "I would much prefer it if I could finish stabilizing Ukitake-taichou first. Can Kurotsuchi-taichou not be convinced to wait?"

Sasakibe shook his head. "I'm afraid not. His subordinates are already trying to distract him for as long as they can but he's started threatening them with dissection. It is only a matter of time."

Ichigo scratched his head, mindful of his injury as he shifted on the spot. "Kurotsuchi used to be Urahara-san's Third Seat, right? He's worse than I ever remember Urahara-san being."

Hirako snorted. "Kisuke's a puppy compared ta what Kurotsuchi does with his test subjects."

Nobody there could argue with that, even if they were inclined to.

"Can he be moved, Retsu-chan?" Kyouraku asked, adjusting his slightly cutup sakkat.

Unohana looked subtly displeased, not a good sign for anyone her ire was directed at. "I would rather not. Ukitake-taichou recently had a hole in his chest. If I release the Kidou holding the wound together now to summon Minazuki to carry us, it will worsen again immediately."

Sasakibe looked conflicted. "Perhaps I could go back and talk to Kurotsuchi-taichou again."

"And he'll probably start threatening to turn you into an experiment, right?" Ichigo interjected, pulling himself to his feet and stretching out the aches in his muscles. "I'll do it. I can get us outta here. Unohana-san, you just need something to transport Taichou with, right?"

Unohana leveled a thoughtful gaze on him. "Yes. So long as I can continue supplying Ukitake-taichou with healing Kidou, it will be fine."

Ichigo nodded, and, ignoring the astounded look he received from Sasakibe as he unsealed Nejibana once more, he stepped away from the group, taking two steps forward before flinging it into the air again.

"Soar, Nejibana!"

Nejibana's serpentine form rushed out of the resulting whirlpool with a rumbling cry that shook the skies. It snaked once around them before looping over to Ichigo and coming to a standstill beside him.

Ichigo placed a hand on the serpent's head, the water never soaking him as he glanced back at the others with a tiny smirk. "First class, serpent-style. Coming?"

And then Kyouraku was laughing, less amused and more nostalgic as he took in the sea serpent. "I'd almost forgotten about this, Ichigo-kun."

"Well I've never seen it," Hirako cut in, eyebrows raised. "Ya didn't learn this recently?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No, I knew this technique even back then. There was just never much of an opportunity to show it."

"Well I've seen it," In three strides, Lisa had leapt onto the serpent the same way she'd always had on the occasions that Ichigo had given her a lift somewhere whenever they'd been thrown on a mission together. "Hey Shinji, I guess we're heading back to Soul Society?"

Hirako grimaced. "Not like we have much of a choice. There's no time ta leave through the damn barriers surroundin' this place. If the old man tries ta arrest us, we ain't gonna be responsible for the damage we'll cause."

Half the Visored suddenly looked rather hopeful in that someone _would_ try to arrest them.

"Talk about making an entrance," Ichigo muttered under his breath as Kyouraku and Hirako carefully manoeuvred Ukitake onto the back of Nejibana. He'd chalk up the fact that it had taken him until now to realize that riding into Seireitei on the back of a giant sea serpent wasn't the epitome of subtlety to blood loss.

"Well, there's no better way ta get the news out," Hirako said cheerily, looking utterly entertained.

Ichigo shot him a dirty look before focusing on Sasakibe, who had, true to his nature, not asked a multitude of questions regarding Ichigo's sudden change in Zanpaktou and currently looked to have figured out the key points all by himself if the amazed expression on his face was anything to go by.

"You coming with us, Sasakibe-san?" Ichigo jabbed a finger along the length of Nejibana. "Plenty of space."

Sasakibe wavered, and then, when the atmosphere seemed to tremble around them, nodded curtly in acceptance. "If you don't mind, Kurosaki-san. My thanks."

"Alright, arms and legs tucked in? Seatbelts on?" Ichigo called over his shoulder as he hopped up onto Nejibana's head.

"There ain't any seatbelts on here, Kurosaki!" Kensei griped, looking highly uneasy. Of all of them, Kensei seemed the most anxious about sitting on a Zanpakutou-turned-serpent-made-entirely-of-water.

Ichigo bit back a snicker, almost losing control when he caught Hirako's eye. The former captain was already grinning broadly.

"Let's go, Nejibana," Ichigo crouched down, patting the serpent fondly as Nejibana crooned a growly purr that sounded a lot like mischievous laughter before shooting up into the air, almost throwing nearly everyone off her back. The only exceptions were Unohana and Ukitake, whom Ichigo had ensured that both were grounded firmly against Nejibana's back.

Swearing erupted from the back while Mashiro cheered loudly, sounding as if she was having the time of her life.

As they flew higher into the sky and Kyouraku busied himself with summoning his own Hell Butterfly, a very faint, very weak reiatsu signature brushed against Ichigo's senses and he turned to peer down at the ground below.

He frowned when he caught sight of a vaguely familiar figure lying broken amongst the rubble, looking for all the world like he was dead. Judging by the rapidly fading reiatsu signature, he almost was.

"Sasakibe-san," Ichigo called above the whistle of the wind around them. "When this place is switched back with the real Karakura Town, what would happen to anyone who was still here?"

"Most likely, they would be torn apart," The lieutenant divulged. "Is there a problem?"

"No, no," Ichigo hesitated, glancing down again. The guy was mostly dead anyway, and he was an enemy. Or had been anyway. Even if Ichigo saved him, he'd probably die before they were halfway through the Senkaimon. And if they made it all the way to the Fourth and Unohana was willing to heal him, it'd be a chore and a half to smuggle him back out of Soul Society.

But the one thing that had stuck out in Ichigo's memory about this particular Espada – he was pretty sure that this guy was the one Gin had mentioned; Starrk or something – was the way he had looked genuinely sorry when he had snatched Inoue right after Nnoitra had been taken down. That by no means absolved the Espada but it certainly placed him quite a bit higher than the, say, Fifth Espada in Ichigo's books, not to mention being torn apart sounded pretty damn painful.

"I'll be right back!" Ichigo shouted as he leapt from Nejibana, shunpoing down towards the broken figure in the wreckage.

Up close, Starrk looked even worse. Kyouraku had definitely done a number on the Espada. The entire front of the Arrancar's body was a mess of crimson, and his Hollow hole was cracked and leaking even more blood that didn't seem like it would be stopping any time soon.

Uncertainly, Ichigo quickly shoved away some of the debris surrounding the Espada before ripping off a large piece of his Shihakushou and wrapping it as best he could around the worst of the injuries.

A muted sound of agony slipped from Starrk's mouth but the Espada didn't wake. Grimacing in apology, Ichigo scooped the Arrancar up as carefully as he could manage and grabbed the fractured katana lying half a foot away before shunpoing back up to Nejibana.

He was met with multiple looks of disbelief.

Ichigo shrugged, gently setting Starrk down before tearing off another strip of his Shihakushou and pressing it against the Espada's sternum. The first piece of cloth was already soaked through.

"He's not dead yet," Ichigo bristled defensively. "And I'm not leaving him here to get torn apart."

"He's not dead yet but he looks seconds from death's door, Kurosaki," Love observed, eyeing the Espada guardedly. "Wouldn't it be kinder to just finish him off now?"

"That's not something for me to decide," Ichigo said stubbornly. "If he wakes up later and tells me to put him out of his misery... I'll think about it."

He reached for the hem of his Shihakushou again; it was a good thing his clothes reached his ankles.

A hand caught his wrist before he could shred more of the material and he looked up to find Kyouraku shrugging off his prized kimono. "Kyouraku... -taichou?"

"Maa, we wouldn't want you to end up naked, Ichigo-kun," Kyouraku heaved a mournful sigh before tearing apart a piece of his kimono. The action looked like it physically pained him.

Ichigo sweatdropped. "Um... thanks, Taichou."

"Ichigo," Hirako looked both exasperated and resigned in turn. "Why are ya doin' this? Ya realize this guy's an Espada, right?"

Ichigo fumbled for a nonexistent answer, none that really explained why coming to mind.

"Why not?" He countered at last. "It's not like he's the enemy anymore. He's injured, he's suffering – that's enough for me."

Hirako stared at him for a long assessing moment before releasing a gusty sigh and moving forward. "Scoot over; this guy's gonna die before we even get ta Soul Society at this rate."

Obediently, Ichigo shuffled over to give the Visored leader some room. Basic healing Kidou was better than no Kidou at all.

Checking that Kyouraku and Hirako was handling the situation, Ichigo glanced over at Unohana who was watching them between healing Ukitake.

"Would you be willing to help him, Unohana-san?" Ichigo ventured warily.

Again, Unohana turned a pensive gaze on him, one that Ichigo didn't know how to interpret.

"You have not changed at all," She finally said. "Back then and right now, you are still very much the same."

Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. Was that a compliment or a reprimand?

"If you can keep him alive until we reach my Division, Kurosaki-san," Unohana continued, her attention diverting once more to Ichigo's captain. "I will heal him to the best of my ability."

Ichigo blinked, and then dipped his head gratefully. "Thanks, Unohana-san."

He shifted and turned back just as the shouji doors slid open, wide enough for Nejibana to race through just as the entire town behind them rumbled a warning before folding in on itself.

_Well,_ Ichigo mused as Nejibana swooped towards the Senkaimon and the light up ahead grew brighter. _At least the next few days won't be boring._

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**Please leave a review on your way out.**

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**Kishin no Mizuhana – Fierce God's Water Flower**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Bleach.**

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**General Warnings: **Ichigo-centric, major AU, GEN, Ichigo-is-Kaien, reincarnation

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**Author's Notes:** No pairings; it's in the warnings.

And extra thanks to K. A. Raith who reminded me that Rukia isn't quite a lieutenant yet, so I've fixed that bit.

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**Chapter 2**

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**11.**

Ichigo didn't leave his bed at the Fourth for the next few days, mostly because he spent most of those days asleep and quite a few drugged to the gills courtesy of Unohana's tender loving care.

So on the day he woke up and his head didn't feel like it was stuffed with cotton, Ichigo managed to open his eyes and actually focus on the ceiling overhead.

The first thing he registered was the soft murmur of concern from Nejibana and Zangetsu's steady presence beside her, both waiting for a confirmation that he was alright. Ichigo smiled and sent a wave of reassurance back before turning his mind onto the last thing he remembered.

Oh yeah – returning to Seireitei. That had been... interesting.

They'd been met by the Captain-Commander himself who'd obviously recognized the serpent that had flown into the city. The old man had demanded an explanation at once.

Fortunately for Ichigo, who was already half out of it and was mostly concentrating on maintaining Nejibana's serpent form, Kyouraku had supplied a succinct clarification of what was going on for him.

If Ichigo hadn't been so tired, he'd have laughed at the momentarily gobsmacked expression on Yamamoto's face.

Everything after that was generally fuzzy and tended to skip around a bit. He remembered nearly crash-landing into the Fourth Division barracks and scaring half the officers there out of their wits but he couldn't recall how they'd all gotten inside. He remembered someone promising him that Ukitake would be perfectly fine with some rest but he couldn't recall who had told him.

And most of all, he remembered the bang of a door and Kukaku's voice, shouting, shouting, shouting, until everything had abruptly gone silent and one hand, flesh, had smoothed back his hair, while the other, wooden, had grasped his own hand. He couldn't recall anything after that though.

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo was pleasantly surprised to feel no pain, not even a twinge in his side. Carefully, he eased himself into a sitting position and took a look around.

The room he was in was dark, the curtains pulled shut to allow only slivers of light to stream through so it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. On his left, Ichigo caught the telltale white hair of his captain and he released a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping with its intensity. Ukitake looked to be breathing easily and seemed only to be asleep.

He paused and wondered if the man had woken up at all over the past however-many days. He hoped not. He thought it was best if he was the one who told Ukitake directly about the whole reincarnation thing. It was bad enough that Rukia probably already knew and Ichigo hadn't been conscious for it.

Still somewhat stiff-necked despite the lack of pain, Ichigo slowly turned to the right, only to jump and swear when he found two pairs of eyes staring back at him.

"Took you long enough. Are all Shinigami this clueless?"

Ichigo warily eyed green-haired girl sitting in a chair beside the third bed in the room before glancing at the other Arrancar sitting up in said bed and watching Ichigo with equally guarded grey eyes.

"I admit," Ichigo started after a long unblinking moment. "I was pretty out of it near the end but I'm fairly certain that I only brought back one of you, so..."

He looked back at the girl. "Where the heck did you come from?"

The girl scoffed and crossed her arms. "You brought back _both_ of us, idiot. Me and Starrk are two parts of the same soul, and you can't just kill one of us to get rid of both. It just took me a while to split away from him again."

Ichigo flicked another glance at Starrk but when the Espada made no move to correct her, he remarked, "You should probably keep that to yourself, kid, especially here."

The girl puffed up and bristled. "I'm not a kid! You're just as bad as that old guy over there!"

Ichigo blinked and instinctively looked over at Ukitake again. "Has he woken up yet? Did he say anything?"

"Hey! Listen to me when I'm talking!"

Ichigo rubbed a hand over his face and pulled up everything he knew about childcare. Not hard seeing as he had semi-raised Kukaku and Ganju, and then done the same with Karin and Yuzu. It just took a lot of patience.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Ichigo focused on the sulking girl again. "Who are you anyway? I'm Ichigo."

The girl glowered at him suspiciously but relented after a few seconds. "Lilynette."

Ichigo offered a faint smile. "Nice to meet you."

He switched his gaze over to the other Arrancar. "And you're Starrk, right?"

The man inclined his head lazily, the action at odds with his cautious expression. Ichigo paid it no mind. Anybody would be vigilant if they were stuck in the middle of known enemy territory.

"So like I said," Ichigo waved a hand in his captain's direction. "Do you know if he's woken up yet?"

Lilynette scrunched up her brow in thought as she swung her legs. "Yeah, several times, a few during one of those visits that that bastard made."

Ichigo squinted at her and wracked his mind for who 'that bastard' was. "...You mean Kyouraku-taichou?"

"The guy in pink," Lilynette scowled. "He's an idiot."

Ichigo huffed a laugh. "He gives off that vibe, doesn't he?"

His humour died as his gaze drifted back to Ukitake. "...Did you hear what they said?"

"They were talking about some Kaien guy," Lilynette announced, and Ichigo froze. "They were talking in really low voices so I didn't hear much, but it was Kaien this and Kaien that, and then I swear the old guy looked like he wanted to cry, and whenever he was awake, he'd just sit there and stare at you for hours. Who's Kaien? Did he die in the war?"

Ichigo forced himself to unclench his fingers from his blankets. "No. Kaien died almost sixty years ago."

Lilynette frowned. "Then why's everyone making such a big deal out of him?"

"Because he came back," Ichigo said simply, throwing back his blankets and clambering out of bed. His hand caught the bedside table when his legs buckled and dumped him back on the bed. A rush of irritation surged up in his chest – why was he _still _not healed? – and he thumped a fist against the wooden surface of the table. "Goddamnit!"

"Take it easy," Starrk's slow drawl sounded behind him. "That Unohana woman said something about you exhausting your soul."

Ichigo gritted his teeth but craned his head around to look at them. "How long have I been out? Did anyone else visit?"

Lilynette shot him an odd look but piped up again. Ichigo rather suspected that she hadn't had anyone to talk to all that much. Starrk, for all that he was sitting up, still looked to be recovering. His torso was still swathed in bandages.

"You've been asleep for almost two weeks. You're even lazier than Starrk over here. And you must be really popular; there's been people coming and going since day one. It's too early for visitors right now though and the healer lady always keeps everyone out at this time. She can be _really_ scary."

Ichigo stifled a smile and glanced at the door. No wonder. He would've thought Kukaku would be here yelling his ear off first thing, but if Unohana put her foot down, then nothing and no one would be making it past that door.

"Do you know who's come by?" Ichigo asked, and then mentally slapped himself because, duh, of course not. "What I mean is, did a black-haired girl with purple eyes visit?"

Lilynette's eyes turned sly. "Why? Is she your girlfriend?"

Ichigo almost blanched. That was just... way too complicated right now. "No, she's a friend. You've seen her?"

Lilynette shrugged. "Yeah, she's one of the ones who came by most, every day; never missed a visit. I think she even brought work with her to do a few times."

An unbidden smirk crossed his face. Rukia had picked up one of his habits.

"She cried the first time," Lilynette continued, and Ichigo jerked around to face her again. "Came in here and just bawled her eyes out. Jeez, she was loud-"

"Lilynette," Starrk spoke up, interrupting Lilynette's rambling. The Espada was observing Ichigo closely, expression unreadable.

The girl scowled. "What? He asked."

Ichigo offered a strained smile. "It's fine, I did ask. I'll have to talk to her later, that's all."

God, he hoped Rukia hadn't been crying out of guilt because then he'd have to beat some sense into her in their not-yet-scheduled spar, and then Byakuya would probably come after him with Senbonzakura.

Ichigo paused and then snorted at the thought. He'd known Byakuya when the captain had been a _teenager_; Ichigo had watched him grow up. He'd even met Hisana a few times, and he'd been there when Byakuya had woken up one morning after her death and had become the stick in the mud that Ichigo had first come across all those months ago.

"What about a woman with black hair and green eyes?" Ichigo enquired next. "She might've come in with another guy wearing a green bandana."

"Yeah, both of them visited a lot too," Lilynette nodded, peering at him with guarded curiosity. "Who are they?"

Ichigo considered this for a moment. "...My sister and brother, I suppose; Kukaku and Ganju."

Lilynette's eyes widened. "They're your _siblings_? The lady spent almost all her time here alternating between threatening to break your legs and threatening to blow you up, and the guy said he was gonna kick your ass!"

Ichigo cringed. "Did they? Great, guess they're angrier than I expected them to be."

"Why are they mad at you anyway?" Lilynette eyed him critically. "You're that Human-turned-Shinigami guy right? You killed Aizen-sama for everyone. You should hear the whispers in the hallway; you're a hero."

Ichigo automatically scowled. "I killed Aizen because he hurt my friends and family. Nobody gets away with doing that, especially not a madman with delusions of godhood. Who's been calling me a hero? You give me names or faces and I'll have them set straight by sunset."

He glowered at the door. What was wrong with everyone? There were no heroes in a war – he'd learned that from Ukitake and Kyouraku, and he'd experienced it for himself.

"Why not?" Lilynette persisted petulantly. "The winners are always called heroes."

Ichigo turned to stare at her, feeling a little empty as he thought back to all the bloodshed that had taken place ever since Aizen had made his move with the Hogyoku all those decades ago, all the lives that had been damaged in one way or another.

"There are no winners in a war," He told her with absolute conviction, the echo of Ukitake and Kyouraku's voices in the depths of his memories back when they'd told him the same thing. "Only survivors. There are no good guys or bad guys either; when you step out onto the battlefield, both sides are evil."

Lilynette gaped at him, and Starrk's eyes flickered with something that might've been respect, but it was gone before Ichigo had time to blink.

And when a rustle sounded on his left, Ichigo had much bigger issues to deal with than views on wars.

Shoving back the weakness still coursing through his body, Ichigo forced himself upright, took one step forward, and lowered his gaze to meet the eyes of Ukitake Juushirou.

There was a long stilted silence. Ukitake had pushed himself up onto one elbow but didn't seem to be breathing, something Ichigo thought he should remedy as soon as possible.

He dipped into a chest-level bow before straightening again. "Ukitake-taichou, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

No answer.

Ichigo shifted a little nervously, and then took another step forward in alarm when Ukitake suddenly struggled all the way up, coughing feebly as he did so.

"Taichou, you shouldn't push yourse- whoa!"

Sometimes, Ichigo forgot that despite the illness, Ukitake was _still_ considered one of the strongest captains in all of Soul Society.

One hand clamped around his shoulder and jerked him forward, and Ichigo was yanked off his feet and sent tumbling straight into his captain's chest. Half a heartbeat later, he was being hugged to within an inch of his life.

"Tai- chou...?" Ichigo flailed a little, not used to out-of-the-blue hugs.

It was several seconds before he managed to get his arms under control, but once he figured out that Ukitake wasn't going to be letting him go anytime soon, he relaxed and returned the gesture, carefully wrapping his own arms around his captain's back.

"I'm sorry," Ukitake rasped after a long minute. In the prior silence of the room, the two words rang loud and clear.

Ichigo pulled back, startled, and his captain reluctantly released him.

"You're sorry?" Ichigo repeated, completely bewildered. "For what?"

"For telling you to fight alone," Regret coloured Ukitake's expression. "Because I offered you no backup, you fell against Metastacia."

A startled noise from behind them went entirely ignored.

Ichigo straightened and scowled down at his captain. "I think your memory's going, Taichou. I've been dead for half a century and I still remember. I _asked_ to fight alone. _I_ was the idiot who lost my head and charged into battle all for vengeance. You don't get to take that responsibility away from me. I died because I was stupid and careless, nothing more, nothing less. Rukia's one thing – I can understand if she feels guilty – but you don't get to do that. For god's sakes, you're my captain; act your age!"

He paused, taking in the way Ukitake was now blinking owlishly at him, looking wholly taken aback. A chuckle from the door drew their attention and they both turned to find Kyouraku leaning against the doorframe, most likely having slipped in when Ichigo had been ranting.

"Now here's something I haven't seen in a long while," Kyouraku remarked, stepping into the room with hat in hand and a new but still pink kimono draped over his haori. "Nobody's been able to give Juu-chan here a good dressing-down since you died, and the first thing you do after waking up is exactly that."

Ichigo huffed, temper abating and abruptly leaving him feeling off-balanced. He frowned, stumbling a step back as he tried to regain his equilibrium, only for his left leg to give out under him.

"Easy," Kyouraku's steady hand grabbed his arm before Ichigo could face-plant on the ground even as Ukitake frowned in concern, looking two seconds away from jumping to his feet to help too.

Well that wouldn't do.

With more effort than Ichigo liked, he straightened once more, and then allowed Kyouraku to steer him back to bed.

"You really shouldn't be moving about, Ichigo-kun," Kyouraku chided. "When you finally let Retsu-chan examine you, it was the closest I'd ever seen her come to looking worried. You gave all of us a scare."

For his part, Ichigo had no idea what the captain was talking about. "What do you mean _let_ Unohana-san examine me? I don't think even the Captain-Commander dares say no to her when he's in her care."

Kyouraku looked amused but nodded in agreement. "True enough, but-" He glanced over at the two Arrancar still in the room. "You haven't told him?"

Ichigo glanced back at Lilynette and Starrk, the former looking sullen again and the latter tensing ever-so-slightly.

Kyouraku turned back to him, expression mild and little else. "Maa, you must've been really out of it if you don't remember, but you kicked up a huge fuss when Shinji suggested that you be looked over once she was done with Juushirou. You wouldn't hear a word of it; kept insisting that she had promised to heal Espada-san over there first. When a few of her subordinates tried to sedate you, you flooded an entire wing of the Fourth with Nejibana. In the end, just to speed things up, Retsu-chan healed him, and you only collapsed after she swore that he was out of immediate danger."

Kyouraku looked bemused even as something more serious settled over his features. "I don't seem to remember you being quite so reckless sixty years ago, Metastacia aside."

Ichigo flushed, feeling somewhat horrified. He'd done all that? And _flooded_ a wing of the Fourth? He supposed he should count himself lucky that Unohana hadn't killed him for that.

Hesitantly, he flicked a glance over at the two Arrancar again, frowning when something off nagged against his mind.

Lilynette was still looking grumpy while Starrk somehow managed to look perfectly unperturbed and increasingly apprehensive at the same time. And...

They were still _here_.

Physically, Lilynette looked to be fine, and while Starrk was wrapped in bandages, Ichigo was pretty sure that the Espada could get up and walk away right now.

So why were they still here when they clearly didn't want to be?

"You _can_ open a Garganta, can't you?" Ichigo said out loud. "Between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo? You can leave anytime. Why are you still here?"

Lilynette leapt to her feet, visibly fuming. "I can't believe a _moron_ saved us! This _really_ sucks, and you're a complete _idiot_!"

And then she spun around again, scooting her chair as close to Starrk's bed as possible before sitting down once more and pointedly ignoring the rest of them.

And Ichigo still hadn't the faintest clue why they were still here, though he'd been insulted several times for his efforts in finding out.

He looked over at Starrk, who wasn't at all forthcoming, and actually leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes instead. Ichigo scowled at him and turned back to the captains.

"I don't get it," Ichigo said bluntly.

Kyouraku huffed a laugh and Ukitake watched him with familiar indulgent amusement, the shadows in the latter's eyes momentarily lifting.

To be honest, Ichigo hadn't really expected his death to cause _this_ much of an impact on his captain. Sure, he knew he'd been important to Ukitake, but Ichigo had been training Kiyone and Sentarou to take over in case anything had happened to him, and Rukia had been well on her way to becoming a seated officer by the time he'd passed. He knew that they'd mourn, but he didn't think that they'd still be hung up on it over half a century later.

"I don't recall you being this slow on the uptake either," Kyouraku commented. "Though we could chalk that up to you still being in your sickbed and all."

Ichigo scratched his head but dropped the subject. Clearly, nobody in the room felt the least bit inclined to enlighten him.

"But what's wrong with me?" Ichigo asked pensively. "Starrk said Unohana-san said something about exhausting my soul?"

All at once, both Kyouraku and Ukitake turned grim.

"There is a reason all Shinigami only have one Zanpakutou, Ichigo," Ukitake started, and Ichigo was pleased to note that his captain seemed okay with calling him by his current name but also dropping the honorific like he had when Ichigo had been Kaien.

"It's partly because any one soul should only be able to manifest one spirit," Ukitake continued. "But it's also because any more than that and the soul wouldn't be able to support that much power, at least not all at once. You would need to build up your strength over time."

The captain was sitting up now, still paler than usual but clear-eyed enough. "From what I've heard, Ichigo, when you fought Aizen, you used both your Zanpakutou, and not only that, you activated both Bankai at the same time. Senpai- Unohana-taichou told us that it was frankly a miracle that you had managed to make your way back to the fake Karakura Town to find me, much less escort Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto-fukutaichou to the Fourth beforehand and then transport us all back to Seireitei afterwards. There's never been a case like yours, but from what she managed to learn when she was healing you, she said you should've died immediately after your battle with Aizen."

Ichigo couldn't think of anything to say to this for several long seconds. Truthfully, the whole should've-died bit didn't really bother him.

He _should've_ died when invading Soul Society, would've if he didn't have kickass friends and the luck of seventeen devils.

He _should've_ died when facing down all those Espada, would've if his potential for growth wasn't so damn large and the Espada hadn't all underestimated him at the beginning of each battle.

He _should've_ died when he had faced Aizen that first time and a few other times as well, would've if the megalomaniac hadn't been so arrogant all the time.

And he _did_ die facing off against Metastacia, so he'd already gone through that once.

Death didn't have as much meaning when you were forced to confront it every time you turned around.

So he did what he did best – take the news in stride. Basically, the gist of the matter was that he had almost died once again but hadn't and was now on the road to a slow recovery. All things considered, that was a good day in his book.

Outwardly, he nodded and turned his thoughts onto more important things. "Okay, and you mentioned Gin and Matsumoto? Where are they? Did Central 46 get around to them yet?"

Resigned disbelief coloured Ukitake's features as Kyouraku sighed rather dolefully.

"One day," Ukitake said resolutely. "You'll learn to start caring about yourself at least as much as you do everyone else."

Ichigo scowled. "I care about myself enough, but I promised Matsumoto that I'd do what I can to help Gin stay out of Muken."

His expression darkened in thought. "'Course, I still have to kick his ass for stabbing Hiyori. And Byakuya before that. And screwing with Rukia's mind. And Toshirou's. And Hinamori's. Man, that brat hasn't changed a bit, has he? I still remember when he left the Academy. His entire graduating class was scared of him and every single one of them was at least several decades older."

Kyouraku snorted with laughter while Ukitake hid his by clearing his throat.

"It has already been dealt with for the most part," Ukitake revealed. "Matsumoto-fukutaichou is surprisingly manipulative when she wants to be. She told us what happened with Ichimaru-kun and how he was planning on betraying Aizen from the very beginning, as well as his attempt to kill Aizen and retrieve the Hogyoku shortly before you arrived at the scene. She finished her testimony by swearing that you would back up every word."

He paused. "I don't think you quite realize it yet, but ever since word spread throughout the entire city about who you are, and coupled with your singlehanded defeat of the greatest traitor Soul Society's ever seen, most of the administration is bending over backwards for you, if only because doing anything against you would put at least half of Soul Society against _them_. Rukia-chan tells me that my Division has cleaned your office top to bottom several dozen times already over the past two weeks."

Ichigo abruptly stiffened. "What? Wait, Ukitake-taichou, I'm not-"

Bang!

Everybody in the room turned to stare at the door as it was thrown open. Ichigo's eyes widened, and then he ducked when a ceramic mug was hurled at his head, missing him by inches as it shattered against the wall behind him.

"Now, now, Kukaku, calm down!" Ichigo placated rather uselessly as his sister advanced on him, eyes blazing as she cracked her knuckles. "Remember what I taught you? Violence is never the answer when talking can do the job!"

Miraculously, she stopped a foot away from his bed, one eyebrow twitching. "Oh? Is that so? So if I _tell_ you that I'm gonna kick your ass from here to Hueco Mundo, it'll be the same as me _actually_ kicking your ass from here to Hueco Mundo?"

Ichigo eyed her warily. "Uh, yeah?"

Kukaku lunged at him, looking positively murderous. "Hell no, you thick-headed Neanderthal!"

Ichigo yelped and tried to scramble away, except his limbs were still trying to sort themselves out and Kukaku had pretty much boxed him in. He winced and braced himself for her punches.

One fist landed on his head, and Ichigo blinked in bafflement when the blow only thumped softly against him. "...Kukaku?"

"You couldn't have remembered sooner?" Kukaku muttered scathingly from somewhere above him, but there was a quaver in her voice that made Ichigo frown. "You met us _months_ ago, Kaien. You couldn't have- You couldn't have remembered _sooner_?"

Ichigo remained silent for a long moment before releasing an imperceptible sigh and reaching up to tug Kukaku's wrist down. Without a word, he pulled his sister forward and crushed her against him in a hug. It didn't surprise him when she instantly returned it, near-strangling him as she clutched at his clothes.

For Kukaku and Ganju as well, if they could look at his hair colour – which was practically the only thing that differed from his past self – and still think Kaien, then Ichigo would let them call him by his old name.

Over the top of her head, his gaze slid over to the two captains who were both smiling but looking away to give them some semblance of privacy, and then over to the two Arrancar. Starrk had busied himself with fluffing up his pillow but Lilynette was staring at them again, previous frustration seemingly forgotten.

"I thought you said your name was Ichigo!" She blurted out the moment he caught her eye.

In his arms, Kukaku stirred and pulled away abruptly, rubbing a hand over her eyes and sniffing loudly. She didn't let go of his hand.

"Technically, it is," Ichigo nodded. "But I'm also the reincarnation of Shiba Kaien."

Lilynette gawked at him. "That's impossible. You're not supposed to remember."

Ichigo grinned at her, wry and amused at the same time. "Story of my life, kid."

Kukaku snorted loudly at this as Lilynette screeched, "Don't call me a kid!"

"Yeah, yeah, not a kid," Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. "But we're getting off topic. What was Gin's sentence? And did Urahara-san find Aizen?"

"Ichimaru-kun's been stripped of his captaincy," Kyouraku supplied, finally pulling up a chair between Ukitake and Ichigo's beds. "And at least for now, Yama-ji hasn't reassigned him back to the Third or any other squad. But he's been allowed to keep his Zanpakutou, and Rangiku-chan and Kira-kun were ordered to keep an eye on him, so all things considered, he got off pretty lightly. I believe Hitsugaya-taichou for one wanted a much... harsher sentence."

Ichigo sighed. Yeah, he could see that. Even now, he'd be surprised if Toshirou didn't try to freeze Gin's balls off or something in a 'friendly' spar.

"As for Aizen," Kyouraku continued, the faintest edge of tired satisfaction entering his features. "He's very much dead. Urahara brought back his body. It's being held in a separate chamber as it dissolves into spirit particles."

Ichigo felt a weight lift from him. So it really was over. Odd that everything had come around in a circle; Aizen had killed him once upon a time, and now he'd killed Aizen.

"And the Visored?" Ichigo pressed on, pushing the thought of Aizen from his mind for now. "And Urahara-san and Tessai-san? None of them have been arrested, have they?"

Kyouraku chuckled at this, idly swing his hat in one hand, but something dark and hard burned briefly in his eyes. "Oh, Central 46 wouldn't dare. They messed up a century ago – believed a Shinigami who turned out to be a traitor and cast out six captains and four lieutenants who all came back and helped save the day. It's a sticky situation all around."

"So they've been pardoned?" Ichigo brightened, but pulled up when Kyouraku shook his head.

"No," Kyouraku's mouth tilted down. "That gets a bit more complicated. They're around; they've even come to visit you several times, but nothing's been done about their sentences yet. Central 46 has handed the decision over to Yama-ji since it _is_ his former Shinigami officers in question-"

"And why hasn't the old man pardoned them yet?" Ichigo interrupted indignantly.

Kyouraku sighed. "Maa, the general idea is that he wants anyone who knows anything about the Hollowfication disaster a century ago to give their testimony before making a decision." His gaze became more intent. "Yama-ji hasn't said why, but for some reason, that includes you, Ichigo-kun."

Ichigo stilled, and then turned sharply to his sister. "Kukaku, our Clan – we've-"

"They tore us down, Kaien," Kukaku spat out bitterly, far more composed now and already knowing what he wanted to ask. "After you died, I was the next head but- well you know I've never been good at the whole politics spiel so Isshin-ji-san stepped up as clan head instead. Central 46 hauled him up on some trumped up charges that Aizen had brought to them, something about you stealing his research but that he caught you before you got away with it. The Shiba Clan literally fell overnight, but by Aizen's goddamn _generosity_, the entire thing was hushed up to 'maintain the Shiba Clan's former prestige', and we were all shoved out the gates of Seireitei before dawn."

Her wooden hand slammed against the mattress as she snarled, "Stealing research? You're not even a scientist! Why would you steal anything from that bastard?"

Ichigo stayed silent. Kukaku faltered and stared at him. "Wait, you _didn't_ steal any research from him, did you?"

Ichigo frowned, gaze sliding to the window for a moment. "...Not- exactly. Well..."

"Kaien!" Kukaku snapped, looking alarmed now. "Why the hell would ya steal from Aizen? Not that I don't approve screwing with the bastard but ya should've at least told me!"

"It was safer if you didn't know," Ichigo retorted, glancing at his now frowning captain.

"Ichigo," Ukitake looked increasingly suspicious. "Were you investigating-"

"I'll tell everyone at the same time, Taichou," Ichigo promised earnestly, mind rifling through his memories as he mentally located the two places he had hidden everything he had accumulated against Aizen. If Aizen had found out, then he was fairly certain that the first copy of notes were gone but there was very, very little chance of anyone but him getting their hands on the second copy. "Please wait until then."

Ukitake scrutinized him for a long moment but nodded in the end, his faith in Ichigo as unshakeable as it had been in Kaien.

It humbled him and made him feel somewhat uncomfortable at the same time. He didn't know if it was right for Ukitake to trust him so unconditionally.

Ichigo winced when Kukaku pinched him on the arm. "Ow, Kukaku! I'm still injured, you know!"

Kukaku dutifully ignored him. "I suppose I'll have to wait too?"

Ichigo shot her as much of a hangdog look as he could manage. Kukaku rolled her eyes but let it go with a huff.

"Well, that's basically the gist of everything that's happened over the past two weeks," Kukaku said instead. "Now there'll be a whole slew of people here in fifteen minutes wanting to see you. They'd be here already if they knew you were awake. You wanna see 'em or play the coma patient some more?"

Ichigo grimaced. Truth be told, he was starting to feel tired again, not to mention a hospital room shared by three people wasn't exactly the ideal place for reunions.

"Why are we sharing a room anyway?" He enquired, looking around once more. "Not that I mind, but Taichou should have a room to himself at least."

Ukitake quirked a small smile at this but gestured in the general direction of the rest of the Fourth. "Quite a few people have been in need of medical treatment, and by the time a room freed up, it was easier for me to simply stay here."

"Not to mention he didn't wanna leave you," Kukaku added in her usual straightforward manner. "Unohana-san told him he could've left three days ago."

Ukitake took on a faintly embarrassed air. "I wanted to be here when you woke up."

Ichigo tinged red but grinned sheepishly. "Sorry for worrying you, Taichou."

His captain's eyes softened but he only shook his head. Ichigo had a feeling that his previous prediction that he wouldn't be let out of Ukitake's sight for at least a few weeks might actually come true.

"And what about them?" Ichigo glanced back at the Arrancar. "Seriously, are you guys being forced to stay? I didn't mean to drag you here just so someone could stop you from leaving."

Kukaku smirked before Starrk could reply or Lilynette could explode at them. "Oh that's not it, Kaien. Turns out, Arrancar know how to pay their debts. They're staying here willingly until they can return the favour."

Ichigo blinked, and then blinked again when neither Starrk nor Lilynette refuted this, though the former's eyes had narrowed and the latter had flushed red with suppressed aggravation.

"Oh," He said rather stupidly, and then hastily spluttered out, "Wait, you don't need to do anything! It's not like you asked me to bring you here. You can leave. I don't need repayment of any sort."

Lilynette's hair seemed to bristle. "What is _wrong_ with you?! Why can't you just be grateful that you've got the Primera Espada owing you and hurry up and tell us to do something so that we can leave?!"

Ichigo arched an eyebrow at the girl who practically had smoke coming out of her ears. "...Okay, if you put it that way..."

All at once, Lilynette tensed and looked to be waiting for the death blow. Starrk didn't say anything, but one of his hands twitched as if he was fighting the urge to clench it.

Ichigo glanced at his sister. "Kukaku, when I last visited, the yard..."

Kukaku perked up. "Oh yeah, the yard was beginning to look a mess."

"Right," Ichigo turned back to the Arrancar. "You can repay me by doing the yard work for Kukaku. She hates weeding."

"And repainting the roof," Kukaku added. "I hate that too, and Ganju's too lazy to do a good job of it."

Lilynette opened her mouth but nothing came out. For once, it was Starrk who spoke, gaze shifting from Kukaku to Ichigo.

"Oi, are you joking?" The Arrancar was borderline-glaring even as his tone of voice remained uninterested. "That's not a fair trade, and aren't you Shinigami a little too lax in security? Even Taichou-san over there hasn't attempted to finish me off and we were in a death match not two weeks ago."

Kyouraku scratched his head. "Mmm, I'd rather not kill anyone if there isn't any need to. Honestly, I didn't even really want to kill you. I'm glad it worked out this way."

Starrk's brow furrowed as he eyed the amicable captain with a measured gaze before focusing on Ichigo again. "It's still not a fair trade."

Ichigo shrugged easily. "Lilynette said 'something', but she didn't specify what that something has to be, so, yard work."

"And no take-backs," Kukaku tacked on when Lilynette made to speak. "You said something; Kaien picked something. Take it or leave it."

Starrk, unwisely in Ichigo's experienced opinion, tried protesting one more time. He didn't make it past "But-"

In one smooth motion, Kukaku vaulted over Ichigo's bed, landed beside Starrk's, and promptly planted a fist in his face.

Ichigo winced in sympathy as Starrk reeled back, more shocked than pained as one of his hands went up to clutch his nose and LIlynette leapt to her feet, hovering uncertainly between Kukaku and her partner.

"You too, huh?!" Kukaku barked, crossing her arms as she glowered down at Starrk. "Why does this entire world insist on making me repeat myself? I said you'll be weeding and repainting the roof, and that's what you'll be doing! Do either of you have any further problems with that?!"

Mechanically, eyes wide, Starrk obediently shook his head. Lilynette hastily did the same when Kukaku rounded on her, shrinking away when Ichigo's sister gave her the evil eye.

Ichigo sighed, plucked a tissue from the box on the bedside table, and passed it over to Starrk. The Arrancar accepted it without complaint, still keeping a wary eye on Kukaku.

"First rule in the Shiba household," Ichigo advised. "Don't piss off my sister. It's bad for your health."

Kukaku glared at him. Ichigo grinned back. Ukitake and Kyouraku laughed. Starrk and Lilynette looked on, clearly thinking that they were the only sane ones in the room.

Life was good.

**12.**

In the end, Ichigo did play coma patient again, mostly because he conked out soon after things had been settled with the two Arrancar, nodding off halfway through something Kukaku was saying.

He woke up again two days later, alone but physically feeling significantly better.

He couldn't say the same for mentally.

"Aizen aside, Ichigo is perfectly fine with one Zanpakutou."

"I could not agree more. If you have found a method to seal yourself away, then by all means, please share."

"How dare you? I was here first!"

"For all that Kurosaki Ichigo is the reincarnation of Shiba Kaien, his current life is that of Ichigo,and _I_ am Ichigo's Zanpakutou. Therefore, I was here first."

"A mere technicality. It is just a name. I have known Ichigo for many, many centuries. When hefirst heard my voice, you were not even created yet!"

Ichigo, standing in the lush forests of his Inner World with only crumbling buildings in the distance now structured like the ancient ruins of age-old civilizations, wearily watched his two Zanpakutou bicker, both looking an insult away from whipping out their weapons.

Nejibana had always been the epitome of grace, if somewhat childish and possessive at times, while Zangetsu _redefined_ dignity and composure, even in his teenaged form as he was right now. Ichigo had never expected either of them to come so close to blows with each other. If anything, he would've thought they'd get along.

"Oh don't stop them, King. This is what I call entertainment at its finest."

And it was wholly ironic that it was Ichigo's Hollow of all people who _wasn't_ giving him a headache.

Ichigo studied his white counterpart critically. "And why exactly aren't you trying to kill me? Again."

The Hollow scoffed, rolling his eyes as if Ichigo had asked a totally ridiculous question, and then, in a sharp, quick movement, materialized his sword and lunged at Ichigo, who had begun reaching for one of his own swords the moment his Hollow had gone for his.

Half a heartbeat later, the Hollow was flat on his back, Nejibana's trident at his chest. Ichigo hadn't moved.

"Can't do anythin' now that this bitch is always on my case, can I?" The Hollow groused, not making any attempt to get up. "Least Zangetsu lets me have some fun."

"Which is another reason why it would only be reasonable for me to be Ichigo's sole Zanpakutou," Nejibana said loftily as she eyed the Hollow with distaste. "_You_ allow this cretin to get away with his repeated attempts on Ichigo's life."

"That is Ichigo's Hollow, a manifestation of all the things he hates about himself and all the things he is scared of becoming," Zangetsu returned just as sharply as he stalked over. "You tell me, Water Mistress, if you continue to separate them, allow the distance to yawn between them once more and prevent Ichigo from ever confronting and accepting his fears, how will that protect him?"

"_I_ will protect him, of course!" Nejibana snapped defiantly. "Yes, from his own Hollow if I must! I am his Zanpakutou! Protecting him is what I do!"

Zangetsu narrowed his eyes. "And you did such a good job last time-"

A flash of black and a spray of water later, Ichigo and his Hollow both had to jump back as Nejibana and Zangetsu clashed, trident against katana. The ground flooded as stormy waves brewed and the world darkened as a blood moon rose in the sky.

"Wow, they sure are possessive," His Hollow observed, examining his fingernails and seemingly unconcerned with their increasingly chaotic surroundings. "I would've expected this from the bitch but not Zangetsu."

"Don't call her that," Ichigo said irritably as he shunpoed above the water. "Look, I don't particularly like you, and I know you don't like me, but either way, we're stuck with each other, so all I'm asking is for you to _tolerate_ me, and Nejibana for that matter.

"Zangetsu was right," He continued, tilting his head in the direction of the dark blur currently crossing blades with Nejibana's pale form. "You're everything I hate and fear, but you're still part of me, and I can't let you go. I _won't _let you go. We're stronger together, and that's what you want, right? To be stronger?"

His Hollow cocked his head, manic grin faltering for a moment. "...Yeah, of course. Who wouldn't wanna be? 'Sides you o' course. Always wantin' ta be _just_ strong enough ta protect the people around ya. That's pathetic."

"That's who I am, accept it," Ichigo said bluntly. "And you're who you are, and I'll accept that too. It's the only way this'll work."

"Oh yeah?" The Hollow was grinning again, eyes gleaming with the near-insanity of bloodlust. "So you'll accept me jus' like that?"

Ichigo thought back to their fight with Aizen, when it had been Nejibana and Zangetsu and his Hollow, all standing with him as a single, united force, and in that moment, when every part of him had aligned and fitted together like the finishing pieces of a puzzle, even when they had been facing down someone with all the power of a god, Ichigo had felt like there was no way they could lose.

"Yeah," Ichigo said steadily, meeting his Hollow's yellow-on-black gaze. "Just like that."

His Hollow's grin widened, and this time, even though Ichigo was expecting it, he didn't react when his counterpart sprang at him, sword extended, and impaled him straight through the chest.

...

"Tch," His Hollow made a face as it began disappearing from the feet up. "King, ya can be more sentimental than a Christmas card."

Ichigo huffed a laugh, feeling no pain even with the sword running him through. "Just telling it like it is."

"Hmph," The Hollow glanced idly down at its dissipating body before looking up again. "Gimme a name."

Ichigo blinked. "What?"

"A name," The Hollow repeated impatiently. "I want a name."

Ichigo drew a blank. "...Shiro?"

The Hollow snorted derisively. "Ya have all the imagination of a doorknob."

Ichigo scowled. "I'm not good with names. At least 'Shiro' is obvious."

"Yeah, it's a step up from shoutin' 'Hollow!'," Shiro mocked. "Whatever. It'll do. Now don't go losin' any fights, King. Ya start gettin' yur ass kicked, ya call me, got it?"

Ichigo quirked a crooked smile just as Shiro disappeared. "Yeah, got it."

The sword in his chest vanished, leaving no hint that it had ever been there, and when Ichigo looked up, he found his Inner World back to normal and his two Zanpakutou watching him from several feet away, no longer fighting.

Even from here, Ichigo could pick up the subtle pride in Zangetsu's expression, and he grinned back despite himself.

On the other hand, Nejibana stood stiffly to the side, fingers tangled tightly in the folds of her sleeves. She looked to be biting back tears.

Ichigo exhaled through his nose and crossed the distance with a single flash step, stopping in front of his first Zanpakutou.

"Hey," He dropped a gentle hand on her bowed head. "Nejibana-"

"I couldn't protect you!" She burst out, cutting him off. "You were defenceless against that thrice-damned Hollow; I couldn't do a thing!"

"You were disintegrated the moment I activated Shikai," Ichigo said firmly. "And that was my fault. I was nowhere near my best when I charged into that fight, and we both paid for it. But I'm here now, and so are you, and while I'm not just Shiba Kaien anymore, I'm still your wielder and you're still my Zanpakutou."

He paused and glanced at Zangetsu. "The only thing that's changed is that we have a new... soul mate now."

Zangetsu very nearly rolled his eyes at the cliché while Nejibana managed a hiccupping laugh before pulling herself together.

Ichigo tugged affectionately at a lock of her hair, letting the streams of water trail over his fingers before nudging her forward. "Now the two of you stop being idiots. You're both important to me, along with that troublesome Hollow of mine, and I have no intention of abandoning any of you."

Under his hand, Nejibana relaxed, and the understated tension in Zangetsu's jaw eased.

Ichigo shook his head. "Honestly, you two. And here I thought _I_ was the dense one."

"You are." "I cannot argue with that."

Ichigo rolled his eyes but couldn't help smiling as his two Zanpakutou exchanged a look.

"I'll be going now," He announced out loud, taking a step back. "Get along, and don't go crazy in here again. I like this forest just the way it is."

He closed his eyes and let himself drift out of his Inner World, the image of a guarded but more receptive expression on each of his Zanpakutou's faces seared into his memories.

**13.**

When he blinked open his eyes again, Ichigo found that he was no longer alone in the room. Instead, Starrk was sitting in a chair near the end of his bed, legs sprawled in front of him and leaning back with a book over his face. Lilynette was curled up like a cat at the foot of his bed. Both looked to be asleep, and were out of their Espada outfits, now dressed in plain dark blue kimonos with the Shiba Clan crest emblazed in white near the hem.

Silently unfolding his limbs from its previous meditative position, Ichigo cautiously stood up, and then did a mental dance when his legs didn't immediately give out. Stretching languidly, he grabbed one of the unused blankets and tiptoed over to Lilynette, tucking the corners around her before turning to scan the room.

To his relief, a set of clothes consisting of a standard Shinigami uniform was placed on his bedside table. Good; he wanted a shower and there was no way he was going to continue wearing the medical gown Unohana had undoubtedly stuffed him in.

Ten minutes later, he stepped back out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel through his dripping hair as he fumbled with his obi sash. Damn the thing; his fingers only half-remembered how to knot it.

It took another few seconds to adjust the sash to his liking, and then, grabbing his Zanpakutou from where they leaned against the wall and tying their sheaths to the band of cloth, he set out in search of freedom.

Three steps to the door and more than eager to be out, Ichigo paused when a rustle behind him sounded, and he turned in time to see Starrk getting to his feet, stifling a yawn as he prodded Lilynette awake.

"Ah, I didn't mean to wake you," Ichigo apologized, glancing at Lilynette as the girl woke with a wordless grumble.

"I wasn't asleep," Starrk stated dismissively, tugging away the blanket Ichigo had draped over Lilynette earlier to hurry the girl along.

Ichigo coughed, faintly embarrassed but refusing to let it show. He couldn't help it; no matter how he looked at it, Lilynette reminded him of Karin and Yuzu, and even Kukaku and Ganju when they had been children, and his big brother instincts just kicked in on their own.

"You're _finally_ awake!" Lilynette bounced up, rubbing the last of the sleep from her right eye. "Again! Jeez, do you always sleep this much? Sitting up too! And I thought Starrk was lazy!"

Ichigo scowled half-heartedly at the girl. "I was talking to my Zanpakutou and Hollow. It's called meditating, brat."

"Don't call me a brat!" Lilynette griped. "And what do you mean talking to your Hollow?"

Ichigo tapped a finger against his head. "I have a Hollow inside me. I'm a Visored."

Lilynette pulled up short. "I thought you were a Human who became a Shinigami. And the reincarnation of that Kaien guy."

"I am," Ichigo turned and reached for the door. "My soul's been through some weird shi- stuff. I'm basically a lot of things mashed together."

"Heh, you're strange."

Ichigo glanced pointedly down at her. "I don't want to hear that from someone who let _Aizen_ dictate their fashion sense."

Lilynette reddened and scowled but Ichigo only smirked and ducked out the door, cautiously ensuring that no healer, especially Unohana, was lying in wait outside before slinking out.

"_What_ are you doing?" Lilynette demanded two minutes later as Ichigo sidled along one wall of a corridor as he made his bid for freedom.

"What does it look like?" Ichigo retorted. "I'm trying to get out of this death trap. I technically haven't been deemed fit to leave yet, and you've _met_ Unohana-san. That woman's the scariest person you're ever going to come across. Getting on her bad side, especially in her territory, is suicide."

"Oh I don't know," Lilynette muttered as she trotted beside Starrk, both stopping again when Ichigo halted to peer around a corner. "Your sister can give her a run for her money."

Ichigo released a bark of laughter. "Kukaku's violent, but she's a big softie at heart. She just wants to take care of everyone. What do you think you're wearing?"

"These?" Lilynette glanced at the kimonos she and Starrk were donned in. "She said they were just old clothes that she forgot to toss but they were still in good enough condition to wear, and they were collecting dust anyway."

Ichigo paused and shifted to look at them. "Typical Kukaku. They might've been collecting dust, but that's only because no one's been around to wear them. We'd never toss them. See that?"

He nodded at the blaze of white at the hem of their kimonos. "The Shiba Clan fell so it's not like we've got a big compound to show off anymore, only a house, so the place is mostly undecorated. That symbol you're wearing is the Shiba Clan crest, plus you're wearing dark blue. Only people accepted into the main family wear that colour. The clan head, and lady of the house if there is one, wear black, while the retainers go with grey or brown."

Lilynette was wide-eyed again while Starrk, frame still slouched, had an odd look on his face, as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of Ichigo.

"But- But she gave us a whole closetful of these," The girl stammered.

Ichigo arched an eyebrow. "Well, we can hardly expect you to only have one set of clothes, right? Besides, Kukaku's right. If they stay put in a closet, they'll just continue collecting dust."

He smiled, grimly satisfied. "Not to mention you get the bonus of people not giving you crap about being Arrancar, if only because I'm involved."

He paused and glanced left and right when they reached an intersection before scurrying down the hall, cursing his hair for the umpteenth time since he had learned how. He just couldn't have been reborn with normal Shiba hair, could he? Even Yuzu had the soft brown of their mother's, yet somehow, Ichigo had come out with _orange_.

"Say..."

Ichigo blinked and turned back again. This was the first time Starrk had spoken directly to him and looked like he wanted to continue talking.

The taller Arrancar was scrutinizing him closely. "Your Clan... Are there only three of you?"

Ichigo sobered, running through all the people he knew with Shiba blood. "...Technically, there are six altogether, but... one's in hiding – Kukaku mentioned him in passing a few days ago; he was the clan head after me even though he's from the branch family but we've never put much stock into direct lineage anyway. After he... left, Kukaku took over what was left of our Clan. And the other two members don't know about... any of this."

He waved a hand in the air. "Shinigami and Soul Society and everything else, I mean. As far as they know, they're just Humans with a talent for seeing ghosts."

"Your Human family?" Lilynette chimed in, visible eye inquisitive.

Ichigo smiled dryly. "Well, yeah; my sisters aren't involved at all."

He warmed to the subject, as he always did when Karin and Yuzu came up. "They're twins, only eleven, but Karin's older than Yuzu by a few minutes. Karin can see what I can see but she pretends this world's not real, and Yuzu can only see shadows and blurry images; nothing concrete."

Lilynette peered up at him. "Why would anyone pretend we're not real?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Karin's a practical person; it's not that she's ashamed of her ability or anything, but generally, claiming you can see ghosts in the Human World is just asking to get shunned, which is more trouble than it's worth."

Lilynette puffed out her cheeks as she digested this. "So you hide it too?"

Ichigo smirked humourlessly. "No. I don't parade the fact or anything, but if someone found out and tried to harass me about it, I just beat them up. Most of them have learned not to talk about that to me."

He frowned in consideration. "Or talk to me at all, really. Karakura used to have a real problem with thugs and gangsters. Not anymore."

He grinned to himself. Harassment had especially gone down after Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Toshirou, and Matsumoto had transferred briefly into his school. The bullies who had attempted to get one over him for so long had, after realizing that the newcomers were Ichigo's friends, gone after them instead.

Needless to say, that hadn't turned out so well. For the bullies.

"Then there are six of you?" Starrk interjected once more, head tilting questioningly. "I don't know much about these Clans but I thought there would be more."

Ichigo hummed as they started walking again. "We used to have quite a few retainers but they must've been let go after the Shiba Clan fell. Kukaku at least kept two on though; I guess you haven't seen them yet. They're the gatekeepers of our Clan.

"Other than that though," Ichigo shrugged. "The Shibas are different from the other Noble Houses. Most of the time, we don't even wear formal clothing to show our rank, as you've seen from Kukaku and Ganju. We don't have scarves and other accessories like the Kuchikis, and our colours tend to be less eye-catching, unlike the Shihouins. Their clan head wears _gold_ when they go formal. For us, what you two are wearing now _is _formal.

"And we're far more lax when it comes to traditions and rules, nowhere near as strict as, say, the Kuchikis when it comes to things like marriage either. Most of the time, they have their elders come up with a good match for members of the main family – you know, like high status, good breeding, and ability to bear a number of children.

"On the other hand, us Shibas don't even _have_ elders; might've had them once upon a time but not for centuries now. When we marry, it's because we want to, or we don't marry at all, which, I suppose, contributes to a much smaller clan compared to the others.

"But overall," Ichigo quirked a dry smile at them. "I think we're happier."

Starrk grunted, looking to be mulling over all the new information. Lilynette blanched. "Why does it have to be so complicated? Why can't those other Clans just do whatever they want?"

Ichigo's hand twitched, almost reaching out to pat the girl on the head for being so adorably naive before he remembered that Lilynette would probably bite his appendage off for it.

"It's called politics," He said instead, picking up his pace when he saw a pair of side doors up ahead. "If you want to keep your sanity, stay well away from it."

He broke out into a jog and bounded out of the Fourth, vaulting over the wall surrounding the Division grounds in three steps.

"What are you, a cat?" Lilynette scoffed as Ichigo stared up at the blue sky and soaked in the sunlight.

"I don't like being stuck inside," Ichigo defended. "I doubt you would either."

His gaze drifted down the street. It was still morning right now so most people were inside working; only a few civilians could be seen wandering about in the distance.

But even without the bustle of a busy Division around him, the city still rang of home to Ichigo. He'd missed this, missed breathing in Soul Society air when, before, he hadn't even known he was missing anything.

Another part of him longed to be back in Karakura though, and it wasn't the actual place he missed so much as his family. He wanted to see his sisters, and even his father, and he had no idea where Ishida, Inoue, and Chad were. They could still be around but he hadn't gotten the opportunity to ask about them earlier.

Three familiar reiatsu signatures approached from around a corner, slow but steadily advancing. They didn't seem to have sensed him yet.

"Oh good," Ichigo cocked his head and glanced back at the two Arrancar. "I'm afraid we're gonna have to part ways for now. I have some people I need to talk to and I can't put it off any longer."

Starrk shrugged passively while Lilynette frowned in concentration. "Hey, that Rukia girl is coming. And that pineapple guy and that captain who looks like a woman."

Ichigo smothered a snicker but paused as another thought occurred to him. Renji he had expected a visit from but Byakuya as well? That was the only way Lilynette would know about either of them.

"Yeah," He only said out loud. "There are some things Rukia and I have to hash out. You're staying at Kukaku's place?"

Starrk nodded once. "Aa. She lent us a guestroom."

Ichigo made to turn away. "Alright, I'll see you there then. Try not to get on my sister's nerves!"

And ignoring Lilynette's "More like she gets on our nerves!", he disappeared in a flurry of Shunpo just as the party of three rounded the corner.

Byakuya saw him coming half a second before Ichigo landed in front of Rukia, and one of the captain's hands instinctively moved to Senbonzakura but paused the moment he realized who it was. Renji however jumped and cursed when Ichigo appeared.

Ichigo wasted no time snagging a startled Rukia by the back of her Shihakushou and slinging her over one shoulder.

"I- Ichigo!" She yelped in shock, too stunned to do anything but dangle there.

Ichigo smirked, nodded at a dumbfounded Renji, and then glanced at an imperceptibly wide-eyed Byakuya. "Yo, Byakuya! I'm gonna borrow your sister for a bit. She and I have things to talk about. I'll return her when we're done. See ya!"

And without waiting for an answer, Ichigo darted away with his once-protégé, leaping off across the rooftops towards the secret training area Yoruichi had shown him.

He took it as a good sign that no cherry blossoms raced after him in pursuit.

**14.**

Ichigo dumped his baggage – not too roughly – onto the rocky ground. Rukia landed with an oof, but before Ichigo could blink, the girl was on her knees, her forehead touching the ground as she bowed as low as physically possible.

To say that Ichigo was highly uncomfortable would be an understatement of massive proportions.

So he did the only thing he could to clear the air.

"Rage through the seas and heavens, Nejibana," Ichigo intoned, and before Rukia could so much as twitch, he had blasted a jet of water at her, bowling her backwards head over heels and dumping her straight into the hot springs several feet away.

Rukia surfaced, gasping and sputtering, and the indignant expression on her face made Ichigo mentally sigh in relief. On the outside though, he only readied his trident.

"Release your Zanpakutou, Kuchiki Rukia," He ordered, just this once slipping seamlessly back into his role as her commanding officer. "I want to see how much you've improved."

Rukia hauled herself out of the hot springs, blinking water from her eyes as she wavered in front of Ichigo.

"I- Ichigo- Kaien-dono-" She couldn't seem to make up her mind on what to say.

Ichigo scowled in irritation. "Draw your blade, Rukia; if you don't come at me with everything you have, I'll wipe the floor with you."

The girl hesitated for a moment longer before reaching for her Zanpakutou at last. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Ichigo smiled and slammed the spear end of his trident into the ground, calling up a tidal wave that surged up from the ground and towards his opponent at breakneck speed.

With any luck, he'd assess her and hammer the guilt out of her all in one go.

**15.**

For the tenth time since their spar had started half an hour ago, Ichigo caught Rukia's blade between the prongs of his trident and tossed her back to the ground with a kick to her sternum. As she crashed into the rocky floor below, Ichigo glowered down at the resulting cloud of dust.

"Rukia, I know you can do better than that!" He barked, effortlessly dodging another thrust as the Shinigami in question shunpoed back into the air and tried to get in a strike. Parrying the second blow and whirling around her, he planted a foot in her back and sent her careening back down again.

"Unless of course, you've been slack with your training," Ichigo mocked, trying to goad her into giving her all. She was holding back, hesitating before delivering each swing. It had long since started to annoy.

"I'm trying!" Rukia snapped back, some of her fire rearing its head as she spat out a mouthful of dirt.

Ichigo snorted as she hurtled towards him again, deflecting each strike she dealt.

"Don't joke," He shot back, catching her around the middle with his trident and flipping her flat on her back. "If this is you trying, then everything I ever taught you as Shiba Kaien flew out the window the moment I died!"

Rukia flinched, shoulders hunching, and Ichigo gritted his teeth in barely restrained frustration.

"Kukaku's forgiven you, Rukia," He reminded, struggling to keep his voice below a shout. "I never blamed you to begin with; I _asked_ you to kill me. Why are you still so hung up over this?"

Rukia's hand tightened around the hilt of her Zanpakutou, bangs shadowing her eyes. Ichigo huffed in aggravation and lashed out at her once again. Sode no Shirayuki barely came up in time to block the heavy strike Ichigo dealt.

"There is absolutely no resolve in your blade!" Ichigo growled, forcing her back with every swing. "No desire to show your skill, no determination to win, nothing that says you even want to hold your own against me; there's nothing but guilt in your Zanpakutou, and that isn't what I want to see! Where is your resolve, Rukia?!"

A burst of water exploded from his trident, slamming into Sode no Shirayuki with a ferocity that emphasized Ichigo's own disappointment. Rukia went flying backwards, and only Ichigo's foresight to aim her in the general direction of the hot springs again prevented her from creating a human-shaped crater in the ground. As it was, a tremendous splash followed the Shinigami's landing, sloshing water everywhere.

As Ichigo waited for Rukia to either clamber back to her feet again or give up (and if it was the latter, he'd get _really_ pissed), he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and instinctively heightened his senses, picking up the Visored and Urahara lingering just out of sight. He caught a flicker of Byakuya's signature reiatsu as well, hovering several feet away from the larger group.

Huh. Well, Byakuya had probably wanted to make sure Ichigo didn't put his sister through too much emotional turmoil or something, and this place _was_ Urahara's property. He hoped the man didn't mind too much, though the shopkeeper probably would've intervened by now if he wanted them out.

Idly, he wondered how long they'd been here. He'd been entirely focused on Rukia ever since he had semi-kidnapped her from Byakuya and Renji so they could've been here all along and he had simply missed it.

"Next Dance: White Ripple!"

Ichigo's gaze flicked downwards just as a large avalanche of cold air rushed towards him. Twisting out of the way, he cleaved the attack in two, only to glance up sharply when he felt Rukia appear above him.

"Hadou Number 4: Byakurai!"

Ichigo wheeled out of the way of the streak of lightning, a small grin beginning to grow on his face when Rukia dashed behind him this time, not letting him fall back.

"Bakudou Number 63: Sajou Sabaku!"

Ichigo's grin spread fully across his face as he spun and slashed at the yellow ropes of energy snaking towards him.

"That's better!" He smirked, shattering the Kidou with two strikes of his trident and a minor explosion as the spell was cancelled. "And here I thought you were completely hopeless-"

He ticked up an eyebrow when Rukia lunged out of the smoke and crashed against his trident with Sode no Shirayuki.

"You talk too much, Ichigo!" The Shinigami growled heatedly, sounding more like herself than she had since the spar had started.

Ichigo's grin only widened.

As they exchanged a flurry of blows in swift succession, Ichigo observed Rukia's expression, noting the strength that had been missing until now burning in her eyes. There was still guilt there, flickering at the edges of her features and lining her shoulders, but she was pushing it aside, struggling past it as she fought him.

Much better.

Unfortunately, even as just Ichigo and without Kaien's experience and skill, Ichigo was still stronger than Rukia, not to mention he had had two months to get used to fighting as Kaien again.

Deflecting one last strike, Ichigo flipped backwards and sent a wave of water rolling in Rukia's direction before calling out, "High Tide, Nejibana!"

Rukia, having been in the process of readying herself to face the oncoming wave, gaped when it promptly grew into twice the size of a regular tsunami, lengthening in height and towering over her even as the sides expanded to curl around her figure.

"Hold your breath!" Ichigo recommended cheerfully and tapped his Zanpakutou once against the air under his feet.

The tsunami collapsed.

It folded in on itself and descended on its prey with monstrous force, and had Ichigo not been holding back, separating the currents that would've dragged the trapped Shinigami down and crushed her amidst the water's uncompromising depths, instead only allowing the tamer tides to drench her, Rukia would've been a goner.

As the roar of rushing water subsided, Ichigo sealed his Zanpakutou again and sheathed it before shunpoing down to where the water was draining away, most of it beginning to evaporate as Nejibana's reiatsu relinquished its grasp.

The impromptu pool could only disappear so fast though and Ichigo waited at the edge of the water for Rukia to swim back to the surface. He could sense her moving so he knew she was okay, though she was taking a damn long time-

"Third Dance: White Sword!"

His eyes widened and he jerked back, drawing Zangetsu in the blink of an eye.

"_Cleave the heavens asunder, Zangetsu_!"

His Zanpakutou released just in the nick of time to deflect the blade of ice that shot out of the water and slammed into the broad side of his sword with staggering power. Ice instantly began spreading outwards, and Ichigo had to gather his own reiatsu to stop the attack.

His gaze slid from the sword that would've probably cut into his jugular if he hadn't managed to react in time to said sword's wielder.

Panting and soaked from head to toe, Rukia stood on top of the ebbing tides, brow knitted in fierce concentration.

They watched each other for a long moment, Rukia still winded but standing tall.

Ichigo smiled.

And then he struck.

With an abrupt flick of his wrist, he knocked Sode no Shirayuki aside, shunpoed forward in the span of a heartbeat, and brought Zangetsu up in a sweep, levelling the oversized Khyber knife against Rukia's throat before she could react.

Ichigo tilted his head and slanted a sidelong glance down at the frozen Shinigami beside him. "Follow through with your attack, midget. But... not bad overall."

And then Rukia was releasing her breath in a whoosh of air, sagging as Ichigo withdrew his blade and stepped away.

"I thought I got you with that last attack," She grumbled, plucking half-heartedly at her Shihakushou as she sealed her Zanpakutou.

Ichigo sheathed Zangetsu and smirked. "I blocked it in the end. You should've tried another Bakudou."

Rukia scowled at him, and then seemed to remember who she was scowling at and instantly faltered. Ichigo rolled his eyes, reached out, and whacked her upside the head.

"Cut it out," He snapped. "Honestly, I'm still me; I'm just... also Kaien now. I don't blame you; how could I? I was the one who forced your hand."

Big violet eyes peered up at him, fragile in a way that Ichigo normally wouldn't associate with Rukia's stubborn nature.

But then again, Ichigo had always known, in both lives, that she tended to put up a strong front even when she wanted to cry or when faced with something that scared her.

"I killed you," She mumbled softly.

"If you want to be technical about it, then yes, you did," Ichigo said practically, ignoring the way she cringed. "But you also saved me. You think I would've died happy knowing Metastacia had used me to kill you and Taichou as well? Besides, if that had happened, then I would've died alone, and-"

His mouth twisted downwards, a thrum of dread sparking in his chest at the very thought. "Nobody should die alone."

He knew he could be a bit of a loner, and even now, he was still learning how to depend on other people in battle, but to him, dying alone only meant that he had failed to protect the people he cared about, and that was a thought that terrified him even on the best of days.

"I fought an Espada who had your memories," Rukia suddenly revealed. "Aaroniero. He- He absorbed Metastacia, who still had a- a part of you when he returned to Hueco Mundo after he died. It was an ability of his, and- and neither Ukitake-taichou nor I knew he could until now. Aaroniero changed into you and I had to- I had to fight you all over again. He had your powers and Nejibana and-"

Ichigo crossed his arms. "Did you kill him?"

Rukia nodded jerkily.

"Good," Ichigo scoffed at the wide-eyed look he received. "I don't care if that Aari-whatsit had my Zanpakutou and my abilities borne from my memories. He's still just a copy. I'd be very unhappy right now if you had lost to a copy of me. Metastacia and that Espada may have had my body, but neither of them had my soul, and that's what counts. My soul's right here, Rukia, and I left my heart with you when I died, remember?"

And the words Ichigo had passed on to Rukia so long ago echoed between them.

"_Whenever you fight from this point on, there is one thing that you must never do, and that is to die alone. Our bodies are composed entirely of reishi. If we die, our bodies will disintegrate and become part of the reishi that makes up Soul Society. And when that time comes, where will your heart go? Your heart will be passed on to your friends. If you pass it on to your friends, then your heart will always live on within them, and that's why, Kuchiki, you must never, ever, ever die alone."_

He focused on Rukia again and, to his alarm, found her on the brink of tears.

"I am going to hug you now," She declared, voice cracking. "And if you tell Renji, I will castrate you, my former lieutenant or not."

Ichigo snorted, but unlike with Lisa and Ukitake, he was ready for the emotional display this time and he only wrapped a firm arm around Rukia as she tackled him with a hug that almost made him wheeze.

By the time she pulled back, wet sleeve wiping at her eyes, Ichigo was glad to see that the last traces of guilt were nowhere in sight.

Clapping interrupted them, and they both turned to the left, Rukia hastily composing herself as the Visored, Urahara, and even Byakuya appeared.

"Good show," Hirako complimented, wandering forward and inspecting Rukia with approval before concentrating on Ichigo. "Ichigo, ya got sloppy at the end and almost got yourself beheaded."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "No need to exaggerate, Hirako. The worst I would've gotten is a scratch."

"Your scratches are deep gashes on everyone else," Kensei scoffed.

Rukia blanched at this and Ichigo shot the Visored a 'not helping' scowl. Kensei shrugged unrepentantly.

"But I'm fine," Ichigo hurried on. "And Rukia's fine, though she looks a bit like a drowned cat."

"And whose fault is that?" Rukia demanded, raking her fingers through her hair. "You dropped a _tsunami_ on me!"

Most of the Visored smirked as Mashiro grinned, bouncing forward to examine Ichigo more closely. "Berry-tan is a lot stronger than before, especially since he shouldn't be fighting right now."

Ichigo twitched, freezing when Rukia rounded on him.

"What?" She eyed him suspiciously, hands on her hips. "What is she talking about?"

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. "Um, well-"

"Kurosaki-san," Urahara spoke up, gaze shrewd under the brim of his hat. "Did Unohana-taichou release you from the Fourth yet?"

In his head, Ichigo nastily cursed the shopkeeper to the deepest depths of Hell.

"Ichigo!" Rukia looked ready to tie him up and drag him back.

"I'm sure she would've cleared me if she had seen me!" Ichigo tried to placate. Rukia didn't look very impressed. "Oh, come on, Rukia, I've been in that place for two weeks! There's no way I'm not-"

Looking back, he thought he probably didn't make a very good argument when he had to break off abruptly, feeling like someone had taken a hammer to his lungs as all the air seemed to leave him and he was falling before he could register what was happening.

"Ichigo!"

"There's no way you're not what, exactly?" Hirako drawled as he caught Ichigo by the shoulder before he could hit the ground and carefully lowered him into a sitting position. Ichigo was too busy trying to regain his breath and fight back a wave of dizziness to flip Hirako the bird.

"What's going on?" Rukia sounded on the verge of full-blown panic. "What's wrong with him?"

"His soul has not completely recovered yet," Urahara supplied from somewhere in front of Ichigo. A cool hand pressed against his forehead before moving to his chest, and then a strong wave of healing Kidou washed over him. Ah, that's right; Urahara could probably enter the Fourth as a professional healer with his skills in that area.

The shopkeeper only let up on the healing when Ichigo's breathing eased and he could actually sit up on his own without Hirako's hand at his back.

"Oi," Lisa looked worried, the ticked off expression on her face doing nothing to hide it. "Maybe you should head back to the Fourth."

"You know I hate that place," Ichigo protested, the only thing stopping him from making an attempt to heave himself back to his feet being Urahara's uncharacteristically stern gaze and Hirako's iron grasp on his shoulder, keeping him in place. Mother hens, the both of them.

"Besides," He continued insistently. "I have other things to do."

"It can't be all that important!" Rukia objected.

"It's important," Ichigo said adamantly, gaze roaming from one Visored to the next before settling on Byakuya standing a few feet away. "The Captain-Commander wants to see me, right?"

To his credit, Byakuya acted relatively the same as he usually did with Ichigo. "Yes, Yamamoto-soutaichou requests your presence the moment Unohana-taichou deems you fit."

He paused, a flicker of maybe-humour darting across the captain's otherwise aloof features. "That time still seems to be undecided."

Ichigo blinked, and then scowled good-naturedly at Byakuya. "I hear you, but this is seriously important. Will everyone be there?"

Byakuya inclined his head. "He will call a hearing of sorts. All captains, lieutenants, the seated officers who fought in the war, Ichimaru Gin, those who were exiled, the Visored, and your family and Human friends will be present."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed instantly. "My _family_? As in just Kukaku and Ganju, right?"

For a split second, Byakuya hesitated before forging on smoothly, "As well as your father, Kurosaki Isshin."

Ichigo stilled. Luckily for everyone involved, especially the Captain-Commander, Urahara cut in with a clarification. "It was partly my fault, Kurosaki-san. I hadn't realized that you hadn't told Isshin-san who you are, and when he heard, he insisted on coming back to Seireitei. Of course, your sisters have not been told yet, and they are currently staying at, I believe, Ishida-san's house until further notice."

Ichigo glared at the shopkeeper. "So where's my dad? He hasn't been arrested, has he?"

"No, no," Urahara assured. "He's been staying in the Human World for the most part, arranging things with Ishida-san's father for your sisters. He's been visiting you regularly though, and the Captain-Commander has, temporarily at least, reinstated Isshin-san's reiatsu imprint. He is free to come and go from Soul Society, as are Ishida-san, Inoue-san, and Sado-san. All three of them are recuperating in Karakura as well, but they'll be here as soon as someone finds the time to inform them of your... conscious state."

Ichigo slumped a little in relief. "Okay, that's alright then. I should-"

"Go home and rest," Lisa interrupted. "Even if whatever you have to say to the Captain-Commander is important, how exactly are you going to say it if you can barely stand? Look, go to your sister's house and get some rest. I'll even make Shinji talk to Unohana-san for you."

"Why me?!"

Lisa shot him a dubious look. "Do I look suicidal to you? _I'm_ not going to break the news to her that one of her patients has gone AWOL. Besides, you can run faster than I can."

Hirako glowered at her.

"What d'ya have ta say anyway?" Hiyori piped up at last. Ichigo was mildly surprised that she had managed to stay silent for so long. "Ya weren't _there_ for the Hollowfication a century ago."

Ichigo stiffened and he craned his head up to stare at the former lieutenant. "No I wasn't. I regret it every day."

Hiyori looked taken aback but Ichigo was already turning to Lisa, who seemed to be recalling something from long ago.

"Ukitake-taichou suddenly had an episode that day," She said slowly with dawning realization. He was laid out for hours, right through the time when lieutenants were being requested to go on that damn mission. I was assigned to it-"

"-because I couldn't go," Ichigo confirmed gravely. "I had to stay behind to run the Division and take care of my captain, but if he hadn't fallen sick that day, I would've gone in your place. Ukitake-taichou told me later that you weren't amongst the first choices. If I had gone instead, you wouldn't have been Hollowfied."

Silence reigned heavily around them. Lisa stared and stared some more, motionless and looking increasingly pale.

"I never thought I'd say this," She spoke up at last. "But I'm damn glad Ukitake-taichou chose that day to fall ill."

Ichigo frowned. "Lisa-"

"If it was between me and you, then I'm glad it was me," Lisa said staunchly. "Besides, what does it matter anymore? You've been Hollowfied anyway in this life. And you _died_ in your last life. I think that automatically cancels out anything you think you owe me."

Ichigo's mouth curled up in an involuntary smile. "Guess so."

"And it would've been a nightmare if we had had ta take ya with us," Hirako taunted. "Ya would've insisted on doin' somethin' disgustin'ly difficult, debatably suicidal, and or monumentally impossible ta clear our names, and the worst part would've been that it probably would've worked."

A round of laughter rippled through the group as Ichigo rolled his eyes again. He couldn't deny it though. He'd never been one to sit back and wait, and he would've dragged the other Visored into storming Seireitei and going up against Aizen at the first opportunity.

"So what's this important thing ya have ta do then?" Hiyori demanded again, dragging them back on topic. "Ya have some proof that might clear our names?"

Ichigo grimaced but stayed vague. "I should hope so."

He turned to Rukia, shrugging off Hirako's grip and climbing to his feet with only Urahara's steadying hand at his elbow as assistance. "Rukia, back when I died, do you still remember what I asked you to do?"

Rukia had winced at the mention of his death but the guilt didn't come back and she bit her lip in thought instead. "Asked me to... Oh, you mean the floorboards?"

Ichigo nodded attentively, gauging her reaction and ignoring the general confusion around him. "I suppose you didn't find anything?"

Rukia shook her head. "No, there was nothing there. I practically tore your office apart. I even checked under the ceiling boards just in case you meant that. I didn't find anything."

"What floorboards?!" Hiyori blared, all but at the end of her patience.

Ichigo scowled at her but answered directly enough. "The floorboards in my off- in my old office at the Thirteenth. I hid a few important things under them over the years. I guess Aizen must've gotten to them first before Rukia could get there."

"So that's the proof gone?" Love enquired, deflating just a little.

Ichigo snorted. "Hell no. I made two copies, just in case the first was found. 'Course, I wasn't planning on dying first."

"What if Aizen took the second copy as well?" Kensei frowned.

Ichigo shook his head. "He couldn't have. Even if he found the location of where I hid it, he'd need three things before he could get to it: access to the Shiba compound, Shiba blood, and..."

His hand fell to his first Zanpakutou. "He'd need Nejibana. More importantly, he'd need the control only I have with Nejibana's abilities. Otherwise, there's no way he could've gotten to it."

Ichigo smiled grimly at the surprised faces around him.

"I have a question, Kurosaki-san," Urahara had tilted back his hat and was frowning at him in a calculating sort of way that told Ichigo that the former captain was already well on his way to figuring out more than a few things. "Where did you get this proof?"

Ichigo had no wish to repeat himself later. Besides, he really didn't know how Lisa would react once she found out what he had done after she had fled with the others.

"I'll tell everyone at the same time later," Ichigo hedged instead, hiding his anxiety.

It was time to bring a few things to light. The outcome would be immensely eye-opening to say the least.

**16.**

As it turned out though, bringing a few things to light had to wait a few days, especially once Unohana caught up with him and scared the crap out of him with quietly serene words and demonically shadowed eyes. Hirako had ended up being no help whatsoever, offering an unashamed 'what did you expect me to do against _her_' shrug when Ichigo managed to shoot a dirty look in his direction between getting chewed out by Unohana, his sister, _and_ Ukitake.

And now here he was, two days later and resting on the porch, bored out of his mind with the only entertainment being Starrk and Lilynette weeding the yard.

"I _hate_ doing this!" Lilynette complained for the sixty-seventh time since they had started (Ichigo had counted). "This is slave labour!"

A few feet away from her, hair tied back and wearing a dark green yukata instead, Starrk twitched and looked very, very close to homicide. "Shut _up_, Lilynette."

Lilynette, dressed in similar shades even though Ichigo had seen her staring longingly at the pale blue and white yukata that Kukaku had also given her but would've gotten dirty when she did the yard work, completely ignored Starrk and pouted outrageously over at Ichigo instead.

Ichigo scowled. Lilynette had learned early on that though she was an Arrancar, Ichigo had a soft spot for her, if only because she reminded him of his sisters, and the girl had taken shameless advantage of it.

He held out for a few seconds longer, but when even Starrk glanced enviously at the porch, Ichigo snorted and waved them over. "Yeah, fine, take a break. I'm not the one Kukaku's gonna call lazy bums."

"Hmph," Lilynette scurried over and flopped down beside Ichigo, while Starrk, at a more sedate pace, all but collapsed on Ichigo's other side and closed his eyes, already well on his way to an afternoon nap.

"Your brother could do it fine," Lilynette complained.

Ichigo grinned. "Yeah, but Ganju'll use any excuse to get out of doing the chores. He's never liked them. He doesn't mind doing the heavy-lifting but he's always tried to duck out of the mind-numbing jobs."

And speaking of Ganju, his brother _had_ punched him in the jaw the moment Ichigo had stepped foot through the door two days ago, but before Ichigo had been able to recover, the idiot had wrapped him in a – manly, Ganju had insisted afterwards – hug and wailed until Kukaku had kicked him in the head to shut him up.

Just like old times.

There was a crash behind them followed by Hiyori yelling obscenities, Ganju hollering back insults, and Ichigo's own father/uncle cackling about something or other, and then another crash followed by Kukaku telling everyone to shut the hell up.

Ichigo released a tolerant sigh. Beside him, Lilynette scratched at one cheek. "Your family's crazy."

"Don't I know it," Ichigo said glumly, but he couldn't help smiling anyway. After finding out that the Visored and Urahara had actually been living in the underground training area, Ichigo, and then Kukaku, had insisted on having them over. There were enough guestrooms if everyone paired up, and it was better than sleeping on unforgiving ground in sleeping bags.

Unfortunately, this also meant inviting pandemonium into their home, and considering the fact that the Shiba Clan included _Shiba Isshin _who had greeted Ichigo with a flying kick only to get thrown _through_ a wall by Kukaku herself, it was frankly a miracle that the place was still standing.

But it also reminded Ichigo of the Shiba Clan even just several decades back, when there were more people around and mornings were filled with the complaints from those who hated daybreak, and the harried back-and-forth running from those who were late for work, and the loud bangs of fireworks going off from the early-risers who got a kick out of waking everyone else up the good old Shiba way.

Needless to say, they had been the rowdiest Noble House to ever step foot in Seireitei, but nobody could accuse them of not knowing how to have fun. They'd always thrown kickass parties.

He glanced behind him through the open shouji doors and caught sight of Hirako talking to Hachi and Lisa about something, and Kensei was chasing a gleefully squealing Mashiro around who seemed to have stolen the former's shirt for some reason, and Love and Rose were in the middle of a shogi match, and Hiyori was still duking it out with Ganju and Isshin, except now Kukaku was standing over them, bellowing threats of pain and death at all three.

And Urahara had been here earlier but the shopkeeper had left after showing Ichigo a stack of photographs of various Shinigami's reactions after news had spread about Ichigo. Toshirou for one had been slack-jawed, and Soifon had been caught gawking, while Yoruichi, for once, looked like someone had managed to catch her in mid-shunpo and made her face-plant on the ground.

The most priceless one of all though was the dumbfounded expression on Byakuya's face, forever immortalized in full colour. Urahara had looked genuinely dismayed that he hadn't been able to catch the Captain-Commander's expression, but the pictures he did have, the former captain had assured with a deviously enigmatic smile, would be sold off all around Seireitei right after Ichigo was finished flipping through them, and the man had even promised to split the profit with him.

Ichigo hadn't been able to stop laughing for a good three minutes.

His gaze drifted back to Lilynette and then slid over to Starrk. His smile widened, a touch of disbelief entering it.

"What?" Lilynette prodded curiously, obviously catching his expression.

Ichigo gestured around them. "Shinigami, Visored, Arrancar; I never really thought that'd be possible."

Judging by Lilynette's widening eye, she hadn't even really noticed. Her head whipped around just as Kukaku came storming over, scowling dangerously at them. Behind her, Hiyori, Ganju, and Isshin were piled together on the floor in a twitching heap.

"Well why aren't ya working, you lazy bums?!" She demanded, clearly in a foul mood after dealing with the quarrelling three.

Lilynette's temper instantly flared. "We've been working for hours! You want it done, then you do it, you old hag!"

Ichigo face-palmed as a vein pulsed in Kukaku's forehead, and half a second later, the woman had tackled Lilynette off the porch.

"Who're you calling an old hag, you pint-sized little horror?!"

Lilynette was giving as good as she got, yanking at Kukaku's hair as Ichigo's sister pinched her cheeks. "You! Duh! I bet that's why you're getting other people to do all the hard work! You must get back pains if you work too much! And I've seen better tits than yours so there's no point showing them off! It's just another sign that you're getting old!"

"I'm gonna kill you, you mouthy brat! I hope you've said your goodbyes! What d'you have to compare with anyway? You're so flat-chested you could pass for a boy, and you even insist you're not a kid! Kid! Kid! Kiddy-kid!"

"I'M NOT A KID!"

Ichigo shook his head as the two continued rolling in the dirt below him, trying to throttle each other. "Jeez, you're _both_ kids."

He leaned back on his hands and stared absently up at the sky, eyeing the fluffy white clouds meandering lazily across the open blue.

"Oi."

Ichigo blinked and glanced to the side at the former Primera. Grey eyes had cracked open to take him in. "What?"

Starrk didn't reply right away, studying him in a way that made Ichigo almost want to squirm. The Espada relented soon enough though, brow creasing slightly in thought.

"...How long can we stay?"

Ichigo cocked his head. To be honest, he had expected something like this. During meals over the past few days or even just lounging freely to pass the time, there was a horrifyingly empty sort of loneliness in Starrk's demeanour that made Ichigo's heart ache. He never wanted to know that loneliness, but at the same time, he knew he'd come close to it, when Miyako had died, when he'd lost Nejibana, when his mother had died, when he'd nearly lost Zangetsu, when he'd fought and fought and fought in both his lives in various battles, and, at times, when it had never seemed enough.

(And he'd been meaning to ask where Miyako's grave was, really he was, but somehow, Ichigo kept putting it off. At the moment, his wife's – and wasn't that just weird? – death was only a hollow pain in his heart, one that didn't hurt too much if he didn't think about it too hard. A part of him didn't want to know how he would react once he actually saw living – or dead, depending on how you looked at it – proof of what remained of Shiba Miyako.)

"Do you want to stay?" He countered, dragging his thoughts away from his sobering memories.

Starrk didn't react outwardly but tension gathered like a storm cloud over his features. "Doesn't matter to me either way."

_Liar_, Ichigo automatically accused, but he didn't voice it out loud.

"Well I don't mind," Ichigo said instead, pretending not to see Starrk's gaze narrow in on him again. "And Kukaku needs someone new to yell at, and if everything goes according to plan, we'll need extra hands to clean up our compound when we move back in. Ganju will definitely appreciate it."

He paused. "Besides, it's not up to me. I... don't know if I'm going to be staying here much."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Starrk's frown deepen. "What do you mean? Isn't this your home?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm a Human now, for all that I'm also part Shinigami and Hollow and Kaien and who knows what else. I have my old man and my sisters back in Karakura, and my friends are there too. Of course, I have friends up here as well, but it's not the same."

His mouth curled into something more sardonic. "Do you remember? Ukitake-taichou said his Division's been cleaning out my old office. Explaining to all of them that I'm not taking up the position again is gonna be a headache and a half. Some of them might cry."

And speaking of his old position, another issue on Ichigo's to-do list would be to sit down and have a proper chat with his captain. If he had understood the implication properly, then it looked like Ukitake was expecting him to return to being his lieutenant again, and while Ichigo had loved working under the Thirteenth Division captain to the point where he had put off achieving Bankai for decades just so he'd be passed over for consideration of a captaincy, he had other responsibilities now and he couldn't just drop everything and remain in Soul Society.

"Lieutenant, right?" Starrk was staring at him with that oddly intent look again. "Most people would want that. It's a step away from being a captain, isn't it? And you already have that Bankai. Two, in fact."

Ichigo huffed. "I don't particularly want to be a captain. And power can be a pain."

"You're plenty powerful," Starrk pointed out. "You took down Aizen-sa- You took down Aizen."

Ichigo blinked at the correction. It was the first time that the Arrancar had attempted to drop the honorific. How strange. He wondered why.

"I've only ever wanted to be just powerful enough to protect the people I care about," Ichigo said vehemently. "That's never changed, not in my last life, not in this life, and it'll never change for however many more lives I'll live, whether or not I'll remember any of my past lives. I don't want power for the sake of power. I'm not Aizen. I don't want to be a god."

Ichigo fell silent and thought back to when he and the overlord had crossed blades. He'd sensed the sheer lunacy there, the insanity that had taken root ever since Aizen had consciously decided to turn his back on Soul Society and become a god to shape the world according to his own whims, but Ichigo had also felt a little of the man's prior loneliness as well, of being too strong with no one around him who could challenge him so had cut what bonds he'd had instead, walking away and giving up on those who had once genuinely been his friends.

Ichigo didn't want that. That road was paved with sorrow and betrayal, and only led to madness and bloodshed.

"You should stay," He continued, turning to grin down at Starrk as he nodded over at where Kukaku and Lilynette were still attempting mutual murder. "If you don't have anywhere particular to return to, then you'd be welcome here. You'd fit right in with us. We're as unconventional as they come. Inviting a couple Arrancar into our humble abode will be a first, but it isn't nearly the craziest thing we've ever done. I'm sure the Captain-Commander won't mind if you promise not to wreak death and destruction on Soul Society."

Or rather, Ichigo wouldn't give the old man a chance to mind. After what he was going to reveal, the upper management would be hard-pressed to refuse him anything, and as long as it wasn't a completely outrageous demand, he'd most likely get what he asked for.

Starrk didn't give a verbal answer but he did sit up and offer a noncommittal nod, one that didn't seem swayed in either direction, before his gaze wandered over to the two people _still_ tussling on the ground.

Ichigo sighed again and slid off the porch, marching over to the screeching catfight that didn't look like it was going to stop by itself anytime soon.

"Alright, break it up!" He ordered, diving in and hauling Lilynette into the air by the scruff of her yukata while warding off Kukaku with his other hand. "Kukaku, give her a break; she's a _child_-"

"I'M NOT A CHILD!"

"And you!" Ichigo gave the girl a small shake as she dangled in the air, arms crossed and sulking. "Learn some manners and don't go insulting your host! And it doesn't matter whether or not it's true!"

"_Kaien, you better not be implying that I'm-_"

"Of course not, now calm down!" Ichigo glared at both of them. "I can't believe I have to do this! You realize that _I'm _the youngest one of all of us, right?"

"You don't get to use that excuse anymore, Kaien," Kukaku clambered to her feet, dusting her clothes off with a grin that was more happy than teasing. "You've got sixteen years on you, and then several centuries on top of that. Technically, that would make you the oldest."

Ichigo shot her a long-suffering look. Technically, yes, and sometimes he felt the full weight of his years – like right now – but at other times, he really did feel only sixteen again.

"Oh never mind," He grumbled instead, casting a look around before setting Lilynette back down on her feet. "It's almost dinner time anyway so you might as well let them off for the day, Kukaku."

Kukaku huffed but nodded grudgingly in acquiescence. "Fine. Not bad for a day's work, I suppose."

"Better than anything you could do, ha-"

Ichigo clapped a hand over Lilynette's mouth as Kukaku's right eye began twitching. Hastily, he steered the girl away from his volatile sister.

"Would you stop doing that?" He hissed, dumping her next to her partner who had quirked a half-smile at their antics. "Who goes out of their way to piss off someone who could light their bed on fire anyway?"

Lilynette stuck out her tongue but cocked her head inquisitively. "Light my bed on fire?"

Ichigo arched an eyebrow. "The Shiba Clan specializes in fireworks, squirt, and amongst us all, Kukaku is the best at creating ridiculously lethal combinations that could probably set off a chain of explosions large enough to take out half of Seireitei in one go."

Lilynette's brow furrowed. "Fireworks... so they're like weapons?"

Ichigo frowned, and then glanced over at Starrk who shrugged.

"I don't know what those are either," He admitted nonchalantly.

Ichigo arched an eyebrow. "Huh. Well, we'll show you sometime. They _can_ be weapons, but mostly, people set them off during festivals and parties. They're for entertainment."

Both Arrancar looked blank.

"You Shinigami try to kill people with explosions to celebrate?" Lilynette looked skeptical.

Ichigo bit back a laugh. "Not quite, and it's not just Shinigami; Humans use them too. They're not dangerous if you set them off properly. It's better if we show you guys later. Now, you should get cleaned up before dinner's ready."

Ichigo eyed Lilynette critically, reaching out to pat away some of the dust that had smudged her yukata before tugging exasperatedly at her tangled hair. "You keep saying you're not a child but I can't see it."

Lilynette's figurative hackles rose and she batted his hands away. "Hmph! Just 'cause I don't act like the old hag- ow ow ow! Alright, alright, not old hag!"

Ichigo stopped drilling his knuckles into the girl's helmeted head. He'd learned that the feeling was basically the same as no Hollow mask remains at all, something he hadn't hesitated to exploit.

He rolled his eyes and pointed inside. "Go take a bath and get changed. You can wear that new yukata Kukaku bought you. I know you like it; I saw you looking at it earlier."

Lilynette turned red as she hopped to her feet and stomped away, yelling back, "I was only looking at it 'cause I was wondering if the old hag wanted to wear something like that to make herself look younger!"

"YOU DAMN SNOT-NOSED BRAT! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose as Kukaku gave chase once more. Ah well, at least Lilynette had listened to him and was on her way to the bathroom. If she managed to lock the door before Kukaku caught up to her, he was fairly certain that his sister wouldn't break it down.

Hopefully.

Half a second later, he had to dive out of the way when Isshin came flying out the doors, one sandaled foot aimed at Ichigo's head.

"MY DARLING SON CAN HANDLE ANY FAMILY SITUATION THROWN AT HIM! I'M SO PROUD, MASAKI!"

Ichigo ducked low, spun, and planted a solid foot in Isshin's chest, sending the crazy Shinigami soaring over the rhododendrons and into the bushes at the far end of the yard. "Shut up, old man! You never change, do you?"

He was almost trampled when Hiyori and Ganju came charging out as well, both of them with their swords raised and battle cries on their lips as they descended on Isshin, who had to whip out his own Zanpakutou or risk getting skewered, all the while sobbing to Ichigo's mother about how cruel his friends were.

Ichigo stared after them with uncomprehending disbelief. He couldn't believe he was related to that guy.

A quiet laugh startled him out of his stupor and he glanced to the side to find Starrk watching them all with an air of amusement, head propped up against a loose fist.

Ichigo blinked once, and then smirked in satisfaction as he turned to head back inside. "If you can still laugh after seeing all that insanity, then you _belong_ with us."

"KAIEN! IT'S YOUR TURN TO HELP ME WITH DINNER!"

"I'M COMING!" Ichigo hollered back, ducking in through the shoji doors and pointedly ignoring the Visored who all looked like they were enjoying the attempted bloodbath in the yard. "Starrk, go get changed, okay? Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

He didn't notice the rare look of surprise on Starrk's face as the former Espada watched him leave.

**17.**

As a former captain, Isshin was more than adept at fully suppressing his reiatsu, so he was more than capable of staying hidden in the shadows of the night as he sat on the roof of the Shiba house and observed his son – nephew – down below.

Ichigo was currently breaking out his fourth bottle of sake that night, and while the father part of him wanted to jump down there and fly-tackle the teen for underage drinking, the rest of him, the logical part of him, knew that Ichigo wasn't technically sixteen, not to mention that anyone deserved a drink or ten after having centuries' worth of memories dumped in their head a mere two months ago.

So Isshin settled for watching silently in the background. He'd done his best to hide his shock, especially after Kisuke had dropped that bombshell on him almost as soon as he had woken up. He'd been out cold the moment the three-month time limit had ended, and he hadn't even been able to stay awake long enough to see if Ichigo had finished his training.

So it was lucky, in part, that Ichigo had slipped into a semi-coma for two weeks, allowing Isshin to come to terms with the fact that his son was also his dead nephew, who wasn't so dead anymore.

And maybe a part of him had always subconsciously known it; not exactly _reincarnation_, but that something was off. Isshin could still remember Ichigo's love of water ever since he'd been a toddler, taking to the local pool like he was born to swim and always sneaking outside to stand on the lawn when it rained. It had rained the day Masaki had died as well, but while that date could now make Ichigo moodier than usual, the rain had never bothered him.

There were other things too, things that Isshin had attributed to the trauma of Masaki dying. After his wife's death, he had noticed the way Ichigo always wandered up and down that riverbank, always searching for someone, and he, along with Karin and Yuzu and even Ichigo's friend Tatsuki, had all thought it was Masaki that Ichigo had been looking for.

But Isshin had asked once, a year and a half after Masaki had been killed and several months after he and the twins had been able to coax Ichigo away from the river so that his son had, save for the occasional visit, stopped going there.

_"Why do you keep going there, Ichigo? You know your mother's in a safer place now, right? She isn't at the river anymore."_

And Ichigo had looked at him with eyes older than they should be, and he'd simply said, _"I know she isn't. I'm not looking for Kaa-san."_

Isshin had been taken aback. _"Then who are you looking for?"_

Ichigo had made to reply, and Isshin would swear to this day that his son had wanted to answer, that the response had been on the tip of his tongue even as his expression had darkened with something a lot like hatred, but the boy had-

Stopped.

Just stopped, and he'd look thoroughly confused as if he hadn't the faintest clue who or even what he was looking for.

_"The monster,"_ Ichigo had said at last, and Isshin had known that that hadn't been what his son had wanted to say, or at least not those words exactly. It was as if Ichigo had forgotten.

Because when Isshin had found Ichigo crying by Masaki's body that fateful day, it hadn't only been Hollow reiatsu that he'd felt. There had been something else – _Shinigami_; some_one_ else – _Aizen._

He'd know that bastard's reiatsu signature anywhere, and even if it had been faint and nearly nonexistent, Isshin had known that Aizen had been there that day, that that Hollow attack by the Grand Fisher hadn't been coincidence. He had been terrified that Aizen had done something to his son as well, but Ichigo had seemed fine in the end.

Still, what Ichigo had said - or hadn't said - had unnerved him, but Isshin had pushed it aside and reminded Ichigo – again – to stay away from any such monsters. There had been no use in fretting over a threat that had retreated for the time being. If Aizen had wanted to do something to Ichigo directly, he would've already done it.

But it begged the question of whether or not Ichigo had seen Aizen that day, and Aizen had used something – a memory modifier or something worse – to erase Ichigo's memory of him and-

Shiba Kaien, and now Ichigo, had always been very much in tune with his Zanpakutou, and a crisis like a Hollow attacking someone he cared about should've summoned Nejibana to him. Had Aizen suspected? Though frankly, the traitor didn't even have to suspect; he could've simply wanted to watch Grand Fisher in action and had witnessed Ichigo calling Nejibana in the process. And then Aizen would've had to step in to seal away both Ichigo's memory of Aizen and his memories as Kaien.

Isshin shook his head. It was obvious that Ichigo didn't remember any such thing even now, and he was only speculating in the end. Aizen was dead now; that was really all that mattered.

Except it wasn't.

Ichigo was Kaien; Kaien was Ichigo, so where did that leave Isshin and Karin and Yuzu? Would Ichigo want to stay now, with Kukaku and Ganju? Isshin knew for a fact that the Thirteenth was in an uproar, had been ever since the news had gotten out, and only Unohana's firm instructions had stopped the entire Division from storming the Shiba household en masse.

Ichigo would be welcomed here. He'd be amongst friends and admirers, subordinates who adored him, and a captain who most likely saw him as a mixture of son and brother.

"Oi, your reiatsu's fluctuating, old man," Ichigo's voice floated up to his ears, making Isshin start.

Isshin rubbed the back of his head and quickly reigned in his reiatsu. Damn it; he hadn't wanted to be discovered.

With a sigh, he shunpoed off the roof and landed beside Ichigo on the porch, plopping down beside him and swiping his son's sake cup for a drink of his own.

"I did wonder if it bothered you," Ichigo remarked offhandedly, pouring Isshin a cup of alcohol with practiced motions that he really shouldn't have. "But you acted like you usually do so I thought you were okay with it."

Isshin gulped down the warm liquid in one go. "It's not so much that you're both my son and my nephew now; that's basically the same thing when it comes down to it. I'm just wondering what's going to change."

Ichigo peered over at him. "What do you mean?"

Isshin sat in pensive silence for a long minute, weighing the pros and cons of asking directly. The pros won out. "I have a life in Karakura now. I don't plan on coming back here until at least Karin and Yuzu have both passed on to Soul Society the proper way. So when I leave, are you going to come back with me? Or stay here?"

Ichigo was suddenly very still. "...Don't you want me to come back with you?"

Isshin scowled into his empty cup. "'Course I do; what do you think? You're still my son in the end. Besides, what am I supposed to tell your sisters if you just up and disappear?"

To his surprise, Ichigo relaxed and even smirked a little. "Then I don't see the problem here. I never planned on staying, much less take up my old position again, contrary to popular belief it seems. You think I'd just leave Karin and Yuzu? And as much of a pain in the ass as you are, I still consider you my old man; I can't just leave you alone. Yuzu can handle feeding you but someone's gotta take care of you when it comes to Hollows and stuff. You know, just in case you can't handle them yourself."

Isshin stared for a moment, somewhat stunned at the, for Ichigo, rather open admission of affection. The two of them exchanged kicks and punches and shouts; rarely ever did they share affectionate words of any kind.

Ichigo seemed to realize this as well, though the sake looked to have slowed his reaction time by a few seconds; nonetheless, the teen coloured faintly and fumbled clumsily for a follow-up.

"And who would be there to help Karin keep you in line if not me?" Ichigo tacked on haphazardly. "Yuzu's too nice, and I can't leave either of them at the mercy of your insanity."

Isshin glanced away and chuckled softly before reaching out and yanking an unsuspecting Ichigo into a chokehold. "MASAKI! OUR SON LOVES ME SO MUCH THAT HE ISN'T WILLING TO LEAVE ME ALONE IN THIS HARSH, CRUEL WORLD! I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW!"

"Shut up, Goat-Face, or you'll wake everyone up! And that isn't what I meant! I'd sooner dump your ass in the Dangai than say anything of the sort!"

Isshin just grinned wider than ever and wailed dramatically to Masaki some more as Ichigo fought against his grasp and swore at him.

And if Isshin's chokehold was more of a hug than anything else and Ichigo's struggles to escape were half-hearted at best, neither of them said anything.

**18.**

Genryuusai cracked open an eye to study the former captain in front of him but nodded his consent. "Very well; the hearing will convene at the Shiba compound two days from now. I will have the restrictions taken down. I trust Kurosaki Ichigo will be fit to answer any and all questions by then?"

The grin that probably would've intimidated anyone else widened a touch. "Aa, he'll be ready. Unohana-san's given him the all-clear as long as he isn't disturbed for the next few days."

Genryuusai nodded tersely. "Good. All Visored and the two exiles must also be present."

The grin stretched again, sly and subtly threatening. "'Course; wouldn't wanna be anywhere else in the world. When our names are cleared, I mean."

And with the barest of nods that had less to do with respect and more to signal the end of their conversation, the man turned away and made to leave.

Genryuusai remained impassive, even when the man turned back.

The grin was gone. Brown eyes glinted. Hirako Shinji spoke. "One more thing, Soutaichou; I liked Shiba Kaien, and I like Kurosaki Ichigo even more. I've said it before; he's an ally and a friend ta all the Visored, and now especially ta Lisa. We consider him one of us. So this 'answerin' any and all questions' that you're goin' ta be puttin' Ichigo through; it sounds awfully like an interrogation."

Hirako smiled again, and this time, the Visored didn't even bother trying to make it look friendlier and less menacing. "I'm hopin' it's not an interrogation, if ya catch my drift."

And then he was gone, and Genryuusai only paused long enough to ensure that the former captain had indeed left before returning to his paperwork.

Shiba Kaien had been charismatic. It seemed that his reincarnation, that Kurosaki Ichigo, was even more so.

And that would be a dangerous thing if it was ever turned against them.

Central 46 knew that. They had wanted to shut the Human-turned-Shinigami-turned-Visored out of Soul Society entirely, perhaps even seal his Zanpakutou.

Genryuusai knew that as well. But he had gambled on the opposite. He would gamble on Shiba Kaien and Kurosaki Ichigo's core nature.

Anything else would probably mean a rebellion on his hands.

**19.**

"But- But you're still Kurosaki-kun, right?" Inoue stammered out.

Ichigo smiled. "Of course. I'm just... also Kaien now. But I'm still me."

Ishida adjusted his glasses. "Well I hope you don't expect me to call you anything other than Kurosaki. 'Fukutaichou' is going too far."

Ichigo snorted. "Ishida, if you ever called me that, I'd check you in to the Fourth."

Ishida rolled his eyes but the tension in his frame seeped away at last as if he had been waiting for that exact confirmation. Beside him, Inoue's expression lightened, as if she had been waiting for the same, for a sign of Ichigo's usual personality.

Ichigo would like to think that he hadn't changed _that_ much.

He glanced to his left. "Chad?"

Chad merely shrugged, calm and steady as a rock. "You are still Ichigo. That is all that matters."

Ichigo grinned. He had expected nothing less from the larger teen. They'd made a promise after all.

"So," Ichigo waved a hand at the house behind him where muffled yelling and mini-explosions could be heard. "Who's up for some chaos?"

**20.**

"They're with me," Ichigo said adamantly when a murmur swept over the large crowd gathered at the gates of the Shiba compound. Beside him, Starrk was looking as bored as ever while Lilynette was scowling at everyone. Ichigo would've thought that they didn't even want to be here if the former hadn't already been waiting by the front door of the Shiba house earlier and the latter had been rushing back and forth all morning trying to figure out what to wear to something as formal as a hearing amongst the upper echelon of the Gotei 13 while pretending not to be doing exactly that. It hadn't helped matters when Kukaku had teased her about it.

To his credit, Yamamoto only inclined his head. "That is fine. Now, I believe you have something to retrieve before this hearing starts?"

Ichigo nodded, busying himself with pushing open the large wooden doors of the Shiba compound alongside Kukaku as he took a deep breath to steady himself.

This was it. This was the moment he'd been working towards since that fateful day over a hundred years ago.

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**Please leave a review on your way out.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Bleach.**

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**General Warnings: **Ichigo-centric, major AU, GEN, Ichigo-is-Kaien, reincarnation

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**Author's Notes:** Much shorter this time, but I wanted to keep it to ten sections each chapter so this is it. Plus I updated much earlier than usual, so no complaints.

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**Chapter 3**

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**21.**

"Kuchikis on Shiba grounds; now I've seen it all," Ganju grumbled, mostly glowering at the Sixth Division captain.

Kukaku snorted and jabbed a none-too-gentle elbow into her brother's ribs. "Leave it. He'll be outta here soon enough."

She didn't bother lowering her voice, and while the Kuchiki Head was too damn stuck-up to even glance over, the pineapple-head walking a step behind and to the side of him stiffened and frowned at them.

"Don't you get along?" Lilynette piped up. Kukaku looked down at where the girl was walking backwards a few feet in front of her, dressed in a pretty, sky blue yukata. Kukaku had to resist the urge to tease her; as aggravating as Lilynette could be, the child Arrancar was adorable in her own way, especially with her not-so-secret fascination with dresses.

Not that Kukaku would ever say as much, even on pain of death.

"Nah," She said instead. It was good that Lilynette had asked; better to drill some basic facts into her early on if she and her partner – and Kukaku had never known anyone who could be so lazy, and she was acquainted with _Kyouraku_ – were going to stay with them (and they would be, if only so Kukaku could try her hand at giving Central 46 a collective hernia). "See, we've never gotten along. The Kuchikis think us Shibas are all uncouth and barbaric, while we think the lot of them have sticks so far up their asses that we're always surprised they haven't choked on them yet."

Ganju snorted with laughter as Lilynette's eyes widened and an unbidden giggle slipped from her mouth, immediately followed by a surreptitious glance in Byakuya's direction. Kukaku was disgruntled to find that the captain didn't seem at all bothered, though the lieutenant beside him looked torn between indignation on his superior's behalf and reluctant amusement at her words.

"Kukaku, what are you teaching the kid?"

"_Don't_ call me a kid!" Was universally ignored as Kukaku grinned unrepentantly at her brother (and damn, that was a thought that still made part of her giddy).

"Hey, I'm just teaching her one of the first Shiba rules our parents taught us," Kukaku retorted. "Right after we learned how to pick out a Kuchiki in a crowd."

Kaien rolled his eyes as he fell back to walk beside her. "Stop passing that stuff on. Honestly, Byakuya's not so bad."

Kukaku watched dubiously as her brother tossed a grin over at the aforementioned captain, who actually deigned to glance back this time, eyes narrowing slightly in that aloof, haughty, Kuchiki way that conveyed a world of contempt without ever saying a single word.

Except... there was a touch of resigned exasperation there as well, something Kukaku would've missed had she so much as blinked.

Huh. And here Kukaku had thought that Kuchiki Byakuya had been a lost cause when the man had turned out just like all his other relatives after Hisana's death. She knew Kaien had certainly been disappointed; her brother had once dubbed the teenaged Byakuya a 'spitfire born to the wrong clan'. Kaien had been looking forward to the day that that particular Kuchiki would step up as clan head, but the idiot had ended up letting Hisana's death affect him a little too much, not to mention that she'd heard about the pressure that the Kuchiki elders had put on him. Thank god the Shibas had gotten rid of their elders centuries ago.

But it looked like even Kuchikis weren't entirely immune to her brother's charm. Rukia didn't count because she was adopted and had been under Kaien's influence for a good while, but Byakuya definitely came as a shock.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, how many times must I remind you to refrain from being so familiar with me?" The stuck-up bastard was saying coolly.

Kaien didn't seem at all bothered as if this was a regular occurrence. Come to think of it, it probably was.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before," Her brother said airily with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Had Byakuya been anyone else, Kukaku thought the man would've heaved a long-suffering sigh and maybe banged his head against the nearest hard surface for good measure.

"Ichigo! Kukaku! Ganju!" Isshin's voice floated back from the front, forcefully light but edged with an understated anger that made Kukaku tense. "Get up here; you have to see this."

Kaien had shunpoed off before Isshin had finished speaking, and Kukaku hightailed after him a split second later with Ganju on her tail. She and her younger brother weren't as adept as Kaien was in Shunpo but they were still better than some seated officers.

"What. The. _Hell_." Kukaku hissed the moment she skidded to a halt beside Kaien. She barely noticed everyone else assembling behind them even as shocked mutters swept the group coming up behind them.

The place was a mess. The front courtyard had been fine, but their central grounds were situated past a line of trees that separated the meeting houses up front from their main buildings and the forested area around them.

But the once lush forests had been destroyed, branches snapped and scattered across the earth, roots pulled up and grass no longer growing what with the distinct gouge marks of a large sword and Kidou burns carving up the ground. The houses themselves – what Kukaku could still see of them – were either falling to pieces or buried under debris from the leafy boughs that used to provide a canopy for anyone wanting to lounge on the roofs.

Kukaku's temper flared. She rounded on the Captain-Commander standing at the head of the Gotei 13.

"Is this how it goes now?!" She snarled without thought. "Does Central 46 get the right to loot our home after booting us out the gates overnight?! Those wrinkly old bastards-"

"Kukaku, calm down," Kaien's voice, still composed but with a strain of fury in it, cut her off. Strangely enough, while Kukaku still felt like marching into the Central 46 compound and bashing some heads in, a part of her settled enough to reign in her resentment.

"You too, Ganju," Kaien added, and Kukaku glanced to the side to find her other brother with his hands balled into fists and looking about two seconds away from committing mass homicide. "I don't think it was Central 46."

Kukaku shoved away her hatred of Soul Society's government and forced herself to think clearly. "Not Central 46? Then- Aizen?"

"Probably," Kaien stopped at the bottom of the steps leading into what was supposed to be the Shiba compound's main house. To Kukaku's confusion, he reached up, took hold of the faded wooden sign that had their surname engraved in it in bold but elegant kanji, and began shifting it from its perch.

"Rukia," He called out without looking back.

Rukia started a little at being addressed out of the blue but came forward readily enough, glancing around with an indignant frown of her own. That alone raised the girl several degrees higher in Kukaku's eyes.

"Yeah, Ichigo?" Rukia picked her way over the wreckage, coming to stand beside Kukaku.

"That Espada you killed; the Noveno," Kaien continued, still struggling with the sign. "He had _all_ my memories?"

Rukia blinked, and then horrified realization dawned on her at the same time it did in Kukaku. "Y- Yeah, he did. He looked like you- um, the old you, and he even talked like you, and he knew every detail about you, everything that ever happened the day you- you died. Aizen probably got the location of whatever you hid here from him."

"Hmm," Kaien only sounded contemplative, not worried, and that was the only thing stopping Kukaku from demanding some answers from her brother. Kaien had always been like that, not really speaking his mind when it didn't relate directly to making his opinion of a bad situation known.

Several feet to the side, the Visored, Urahara, and that former Kidou Corps captain that Kukaku couldn't quite remember the name of, all looked varying degrees of apprehensive, though the shopkeeper, his employee, and Hirako hid it rather well.

"Okay," Kaien finally managed to free the plank, and he hopped back a few steps, examining the blank patch of wood it left behind. "Doesn't look like Aizen did much. We're good."

"Kaien, what are you..." Kukaku trailed off when her brother unsealed Nejibana in one smooth motion, the crystalline trident gleaming under the sunlight.

"Bakudou Number 56: Noren Mekuri," Kaien extended a hand and swiped it to the side as if drawing back a curtain, and a ripple of what looked like invisible water followed in its wake instead of the normal blue and violet aura usually left behind by this particular Kidou spell.

"I see," Kukaku heard the former Kidou Corps captain mutter. "That entire area is layered with Kidou, although..."

"Although what?" Sarugaki demanded.

"It seems Kurosaki-san has intertwined all his Kidou spells with water," The former captain finished thoughtfully. "I did not think that was possible."

Another rush of murmurs swelled in the crowd. Kukaku grinned to herself, exchanging a glance with Ganju. That was a Shiba Clan secret. Only members of their clan knew how to incorporate Kidou with other elements. Every single one of them did it with fireworks; it stood to reason that Kaien would figure out how to do the same with water. It wasn't something that could be learned by just looking either; the art was passed down from generation to generation by direct training, and if the practitioner didn't have the exact necessary control for it, well, the price would typically range from near-critical injuries to death.

Layer after layer, Kaien tore away the safety measures he had placed on the area until a single seal appeared, glowing faintly with Kidou and swirling with lines of water.

Kaien blew out a slow breath as he finally raised his trident. "It's been a while since I've done this, so whatever you people do, don't get in front of me."

He glanced back at Kukaku who nodded and took a few steps back, hauling Rukia with her as Ganju and Isshin followed. Their entire family knew the consequences of getting caught up in one of Kaien's attacks.

A single tap against the ground sent almost imperceptible ripples flowing from the spear point, and then before anyone had time to blink, Kaien had swept his trident to the side, and streams of water burst from the seal in the next moment, all of it absorbing into her brother's weapon.

As it turned out, the water didn't just come from the seal. Two minutes in, tendrils of water began spreading from the seal like cracks, stretching all across the front of the main house before curving out of the wood and redirecting themselves into Kaien's trident as well. Reiatsu pulsed in the air as Kaien wove the water tight around him, drawing all the power he had placed into the seal and breaking it down as it leaked out.

Even Kukaku, who hadn't gone through the Academy and learned all the fundamentals, could tell that the entire process took immense control, and it showed in the deep, focused frown on her brother's face, strain creasing his features as his stance firmed even more against the ground.

Another three minutes ticked by, and then, as suddenly as the process had started, the water disappeared in a flash of blue light, only for what seemed like all of it to whoosh out from Kaien's trident in a whirling typhoon that shot up into the air before breaking out into a torrent of rain that came crashing back down on them in a roaring shower.

However, before Kukaku could even think about ducking for cover, a blur of white flitted forward, one hand dropping onto Kaien's shoulder to steady him as he staggered while the other made a swift gesture in the air.

A ball of blue energy formed above them and fired out six ropes from its center, attaching themselves against the few trees that were still standing. The center solidified just as the rain hit, drowning out all other sound as the water thundered down against the net.

Kukaku paid it no mind, bounding forward and shooting a sour look in Ukitake's direction as she helped steady Kaien on his other side. She had never quite forgiven any of the Gotei 13, especially those closest to Kaien, for not looking into the reasons for the fall of the Shiba Clan, not so much because they had lost their prestige but because family had always been important to Kaien, and she'd thought that, as her brother's friends, they would, at the very least, throw around some pointed questions in defense of that.

Needless to say, that hadn't happened. That half the Gotei 13 _had_ ended up helping out Kaien when he'd invaded Soul Society to save the Kuchiki girl – well, Kukaku put that entirely down on the fact that it had been _Kaien_ leading the charge, or, undoubtedly, all of them would've ended up sitting on their asses and twiddling their thumbs again.

"I'm fine," Ichigo grunted, unaware of the byplay behind him. He offered a reassuring smile for Kukaku before turning a sheepish look on Ukitake. "Thanks, Taichou. I don't think I'm back at one hundred percent yet."

"You aren't," Ukitake confirmed with a sigh. "You were supposed to retrieve papers, Ichigo, not overexert yourself."

"I'm still okay," Kaien insisted, shrugging them off and twirling his trident around to stab the three prongs into the ground. All at once, all the water that the net had been holding up dissolved. It was a testament to just how thorough Kaien's mastery over water was to be able to get rid of all that liquid in a mere second. "Just a little winded."

"But it worked?" Kukaku peered up at the house, blinking in surprise when she found the previously smooth wood now hollowed out to form a small niche. And there were-

"Yup, it worked," Kaien sealed his Zanpakutou again before leaping up, hooking an arm around one of the wooden beams and reaching inside the recess to withdraw a stack of papers and scrolls, wrinkled and slightly yellowed but still in good condition overall.

"...Ichigo, ya give new meanin' ta 'hidden in plain sight'," Hirako deadpanned from somewhere behind them.

Kaien smiled faintly, juggling everything in his arms. "What better place to hide it? This was a fail-safe; if the papers in my old office were ever found, these ones would be the backup. No one but me was supposed to be able to get to them. Not even Aizen or that Aari-whatsit would've been able to. It probably gave Aizen a coronary when he couldn't access the seal, if he ever even found it."

Kukaku snorted, a sound echoed gleefully by the Visored as a whole.

Kaien just grinned before turning to the Captain-Commander, features sobering into something more serious.

Kukaku twisted around as well, and as she stared out at the sea of faces in front of them, it suddenly occurred to her how very much like a battlefield the place now looked. Most of the upper echelon of the Gotei 13 stood opposite to them, while she, Ganju, Isshin, Lilynette, and Starrk stood around Kaien, spread out and nowhere near as formally lined up as the Shinigami officers were even when they probably didn't meant to, but still gathered all on Kaien's side.

And maybe the others saw it too, because Lisa was suddenly striding forward, purpose in every step as she stationed herself firmly by Kaien. And then Hirako was ambling forward with the rest of the Visored, all seemingly under the pretense of wanting a closer look at the papers, and even Urahara and the other former captain shunpoed over a second later.

She was almost tempted to shoo Ukitake away, but there was a steely glint in his eyes that told her that the man was perfectly aware of what was going on and what it meant to be standing on their side. Half a second later, both of the captain's third seats had appeared behind him, faces set in stone.

And Kukaku could even pick out quite a few standing behind the Captain-Commander who looked either highly uncomfortable being there – the pineapple-head, those Human friends of Kaien's who all looked ready to spring to Kaien's aid if necessary, even the short white-haired captain who had succeeded Isshin – or equally anticipatory in the face of impending battle – the spiky-haired captain who looked both eager and tense, the cheerful-looking kid on his shoulders, the baldy and the peacock beside him, even that snake Ichimaru Gin who just looked like he was enjoying the whole situation. Yoruichi remained standing beside Soifon, but the woman was watching the Captain-Commander with narrowed eyes, ready to move at a moment's notice.

Tension abruptly spiked. Kukaku felt for the Kuchiki girl who looked blatantly dismayed as she hesitated in the middle, trying to make up her mind while pretending not to, though Kukaku knew that Rukia would pick Kaien if a fight really did break out, brother on the opposing side or no.

And _everyone_ was pretending that they weren't mentally calculating who to lunge for first if an impromptu civil war suddenly started right smack in the middle of the Shiba compound.

"Maa, Yama-ji, shouldn't we get this meeting on the road? I'm sure the entire Thirteenth Division wants to get their hands on Ichigo-kun once he's done here."

And just like that, the heavy atmosphere lifted as Kyouraku meandered forward to stand beside Rukia, looking for all the world like the most oblivious idiot to ever step foot on the face of the planet.

Kukaku would've thought that the man had only wanted to stop any future altercations if Kyouraku wasn't standing with his back to them and facing the Gotei 13 instead. The meaning was clear. Apparently, neither Kyouraku nor Ukitake were willing to give up their respective lieutenants without a fight a second time.

"Indeed," Yamamoto's ancient tones sounded, and a part of Kukaku was viciously pleased that the man had undoubtedly seen the lines being drawn only a few seconds ago, and not in his favour. "Kurosaki Ichigo, we will first commence with the reopening of your posthumous trial, and the charges brought against you by one Aizen Sousuke: the breaking and entering of his private properties and the attempted theft of his research, both crimes of which the Shiba Clan paid for with their fall as a Noble House."

In the completely floored silence that followed this revelation, Kukaku dimly wondered if the Captain-Commander had lost his mind.

What the _hell_ was the man playing at by putting Kaien on trial for the charges that _Aizen_ had slapped on him? They should be dropped at once considering who they had come from! Kukaku had thought that they were simply here to go through whatever proof Kaien had gotten his hands on so that the exiled Shinigami could be pardoned.

Apparently not.

So really, at this rate, that civil war might still happen.

**22.**

"Wait, you're telling me the Shiba Clan fell because _Aizen_ accused Ichigo of stealing his research?" Lisa's incredulity could've manifested a physical form.

Three steps away, Ichigo sighed. Well, this wasn't how he imagined things to go down, although, to be fair, he hadn't really been able to picture how it would go down at all. He just hadn't thought that the Captain-Commander would call him out on this issue right off the bat.

"Is this some sort of joke?" Lisa continued heatedly. "Ichigo's not even a scientist, and he'd never steal for someone else-"

"-for the most part," Urahara interrupted quietly.

Ichigo stiffened, and then slowly turned to glance at the shopkeeper. Urahara was watching him, calm and composed and without a trace of his usual childish idiocy. There was something almost grim in the line of his mouth and the crease of his brow.

"What're ya talkin' about, dumbass?" Sarugaki snapped, staring between Urahara and Ichigo.

Urahara raised an eyebrow in Ichigo's direction. _Are you going to tell them?_

Ichigo scowled. Like he had a choice.

"The charges are founded," He said, turning sharply back to the Captain-Commander and ignoring the shocked silence around him.

Yamamoto cracked open an eye. "Then you admit to breaking into the Fifth Division without explicit permission from the former captain Aizen Sousuke?"

Ichigo scoffed. "Of course not; is that what he said? I wouldn't waste my time breaking into the Fifth. Aizen would never hide anything there. No, I broke into his private labs."

"Aizen Sousuke never had any personal labs registered," Kurotsuchi cut in, though he looked less skeptical and more eager to get his hands on said labs.

"When I say 'private', I mean secret," Ichigo clarified, eyes narrowing. "I know where there are. Took me twenty-three years to find them, and another nineteen to crack all the passwords and bypass all his safety measures to get to his files, but I managed it in the end.

"These," He separated the stack of papers from the scrolls and raised the latter. "Are all the theories I came up with over the years.

"And this," He waved the papers. "Is everything I managed to steal from Aizen's labs confirming everything I put together myself. They detail all of Aizen's schemes – his plans, his work on the Hogyoku, the experiments he's performed on other Shinigami and Hollows, particularly the Hollowfication experiment that he framed Urahara-san and Tessai-san for, and..."

He flipped through the papers and plucked out several near the bottom of the stack. "I have here all the names of the captains and lieutenants that Aizen Hollowfied a century ago, all tabbed with his observations and data of their transformation. It's a clear-cut case; everything you would ever need to clear their names and give them a full pardon is all here."

Ichigo paused to take a breather, feeling a bit like he was standing in the spotlight when he realized that the clearing was completely silent.

"...Ichigo," It was Ukitake who spoke up first, voice tight with emotion. "Didn't I specifically order you to stay away from Aizen and the Hollowfication disaster? I told you not to look into it."

Ichigo stiffened and rounded on his captain. "Taichou, with all due respect, that was the only direct order you gave me that I ever disobeyed, but you couldn't honestly think I'd stay away, could you?"

"Ichigo, Aizen was dangerous-"

"Aizen _Hollowfied_ Lisa!" Ichigo burst out, and it was Kaien's memories talking now, all the things he had wanted to say, all the things he had wanted to shout at Central 46 and the Captain-Commander and the other captains so that they'd do _something_, _anything_, and not just _let it go_, as if losing six captains and four lieutenants on Aizen's word alone was _normal_.

"He Hollowfied four captains and four lieutenants, framed it on another two captains, and then got them all convicted literally overnight, and _nobody_ did anything about it!" He continued, words spilling out in an agitated rant. "What was I supposed to do? I tried to go through the proper channels, you know I did, but Central 46 refused to let me even appeal! I even went in the capacity of the Shiba Clan Head instead of a lieutenant and they turned me away at the door! Clan heads are supposed to be granted an audience if they request it, no matter what the issue is about! That's one of their precious laws right there, and the corrupt fools broke it themselves!"

He spun away from Ukitake's appalled expression and glared furiously at the Captain-Commander instead, shuffling the scrolls and papers together. "So I chose another option; I decided to investigate by myself. Everybody said Aizen Sousuke was butterflies and rainbows personified; didn't anyone think it was at all suspicious that a supposed saint like him got rid of half of Gotei 13's most powerful Shinigami all in one go?!"

A ringing silence cloaked the clearing when Ichigo stopped, jaw tight as he reigned in his anger. Wonderful. His temper was getting the better of him. His teenaged self was not helping in the slightest at the moment.

"Wait," Lisa's voice was very, very soft, but Ichigo heard her loud and clear anyway. He tensed, and then shifted to glance at her. His long-time friend had a peculiar, pensive expression on her face.

"You died almost sixty years ago," Lisa said, eyes sharp.

Ichigo frowned. "Yeah, what of it?"

Lisa's lips thinned. "Twenty-three years to track down Aizen's labs, and another nineteen years to get all that information; you fucking _idiot_."

Ichigo blinked, anger banking in favour of utter bewilderment. Hirako and Kensei were looking similarly pissed, while the other Visored hadn't seemed to catch on to whatever Lisa was getting at quite yet.

"That's a century altogether, moron!" Lisa barked, looking furious and strangely distraught at the same time. "This means you spent all the years after we were exiled right up until the day you died looking for proof to- to get us back! Who the hell does that?! And Metastacia! I still refuse to believe some random Hollow managed to defeat you! You- You-"

"-got caught, yes," Ichigo finished, finally understanding what Lisa had figured out. "I didn't know it at the time, of course, but Metastacia was one of Aizen's experimental Hollows."

He paused, trying to word it in a way that would hurt less. "I was careless. A week before I died, I finally managed to find and piece together the last of everything Aizen had been working on. Someone must've caught me leaving his labs. The next day, I was... just about to go to Ukitake-taichou with all the information I'd found, but then- but then Miyako's mission came in, and something didn't feel right, but I- I let her go anyway. I was distracted; I put off handing over the proof, just until she came back. And then she came back, except it was a retrieval squad that brought her back, and I-"

He broke off and shrugged uncomfortably, eyes glued on the papers in his hands. "I lost my head. I went after Metastacia that same night, and obviously, I never came back."

He looked over at Lisa again. "I'm sorry. I should've handed over what I had to Ukitake-taichou when I still could- ow!"

Ichigo tripped back a step, and it wasn't because of Lisa, though she had been in the process of stepping forward to punch him. Instead, all he could do was clutch at his head and blink in bafflement at Hirako, who was all but glowering at him, fist raised. "H- Hirako?"

"We'll talk about this later," The former captain said shortly, voice terse. "Oi, Soutaichou, are we done? Ya got all of Ichigo's proof right here. Or would ya like ta continue pinnin' him with breakin' and enterin' and larceny while you're at it?"

Yamamoto looked utterly unfazed, though he sent a sharp, stern look in Hirako's direction that still had the power to at least curb the former captain's rather aggressive words momentarily, even if it was accompanied with an irritated click of the blond's tongue.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, where are the labs?" The Captain-Commander enquired.

"Underground," Ichigo answered promptly. "In District 64, North Rukongai. I can show you where they are right now."

Yamamoto nodded curtly, and then turned in Gin's direction. "Ichimaru Gin, you did not mention these labs."

Gin shrugged easily, and the movement would've been absolutely guileless if he didn't have his signature smile on his face. "I didn't know about them. I knew he had labs, but I was never interested in knowin' where they were. I only knew the ones he had in Las Noches."

"Uh, I can vouch for that," Ichigo added before anyone could accuse the former captain of lying. "It was only ever Aizen and Tousen who made trips out to North Rukongai."

Matsumoto beamed at him, and while Gin's smile didn't so much as twitch, he did crack open an eye to study him.

Yamamoto grunted. "Mm. Then we will go there now, if only to make sure they are cleaned out."

"Wait, what about the Visored?" Ichigo demanded doggedly, instinctively shouldering forward to stand in front of Hirako. "And Urahara-san and Tessai-san?"

"Pardoned," Yamamoto said brusquely. "Although I would like those papers as soon as possible."

And without further ado, the Captain-Commander shunpoed away, his lieutenant hastily falling into step behind him as they headed for North Rukongai. The other Shinigami lingered for a few seconds, all looking ready to burst with questions, but in the end, they shunpoed off as well, leaving only the newly-pardoned, Kyouraku, Rukia, Ukitake, Kiyone and Sentarou, and Ichigo's family, Starrk and Lilynette included. Even Ishida, Inoue, and Chad had been tugged away to give them some privacy.

On Ichigo's part, he was mildly dumbfounded at how swift the hearing had semi-ended. It almost sounded as if the old man had been planning to pardon all of them from the very beginning and had only been waiting for Ichigo to produce his papers. And why hadn't Yamamoto taken them now if he wanted to read them eventually?

He wavered, and then looked over at where Urahara was standing. Well, one should never look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Urahara-san," He held out the documents. "You should probably make a copy of all of these, just in case."

Urahara's gaze flicked from the papers to Ichigo, making no move to take them. Ichigo frowned. "Urahara-san?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" Behind him, Ukitake sounded weary. "Me, or even Shunsui. We could've helped-"

"You told me to stop, Taichou," Ichigo interjected, and even though there was no censure in his voice, Ukitake grimaced. "Besides, Aizen had a knack for dragging other people down along with the person he wants to crucify. If I was ever arrested, I didn't want to take anyone down with me. Everyone else would've been able to honestly say that they had no idea what I was up to if it was just me. Deniability rights, you know?"

He attempted a smile, but the action fell flat when no one else looked the least bit amused. He sighed. "Look, things turned out bad enough. If I was ever caught, I was supposed to have fallen alone, but I got Miyako killed and disgraced my entire clan while I was at it. Can you imagine the damage if I had told you, Taichou? Or anyone else?"

"You _idiot_," Lisa was staring at him in thorough disbelief. "You honestly believe every word coming out of your mouth, don't you? You spent almost half a century trying to clear our names, you came closest when no one else even tried, and you still blame yourself for what Aizen did, for somehow not having the foresight to turn the proof in, for- for _everything_?"

Ichigo felt the beginnings of uncertainty stir in his chest. Well when she put it that way, it didn't sound so good.

"I did though," He insisted, and this was a point he wouldn't back down on. "I got Miyako killed. If I had been more careful-"

"Ya were sneakin' around under Aizen's nose for forty-two years," Hirako interrupted. "I'd say that's pretty damn careful, but Ichigo, ya paid for it with your life. Anythin' else that happened as a result was Aizen's fault. If ya blame it on yourself, then you're gonna have ta blame it on us too, 'cause it was us ya were riskin' everythin' for."

Ichigo closed his mouth, having opened it to protest this very issue. "...Kukaku, you-"

"The only thing I regret is not killing Aizen myself when he was still alive," Kukaku snapped. "Don't you dare do this, Kaien. It was _Aizen's_ fault that the Shiba Clan fell, nothing more, nothing less."

Ichigo reluctantly quieted. When Kukaku got like this, arguing was futile.

"We should talk about this later," He said instead, echoing Hirako's words. They didn't really have time right now, and it would be better once everyone had had some time to digest everything. "Urahara-san, take these."

This time, the shopkeeper accepted the papers, but before Ichigo could withdraw completely, Urahara took a step back, swept his hat off, and bowed from the chest, mirroring his action from months ago, save for the fact that he had been apologizing back then.

Ichigo froze.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-san," Urahara said quietly, and his words rang of sincerity.

Ichigo flushed red, and then leapt forward to shove lightly at Urahara's shoulder to straighten the man when it almost looked like Tessai and a few of the Visored were about to follow his example.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Ichigo said hurriedly. He hadn't _done_ anything; he had _failed_ – why didn't they understand that? "Now come on, we have to head over to North Rukongai before Kurotsuchi gets impatient and starts blowing things up in an attempt to find the labs."

He glanced around, unnerved by the respect around him, and he'd have to be a clueless idiot to not notice the faceoff earlier, how so many people had sided with him, and while he had been flattered and pleased and grateful, the entire thing had also made him uneasy. He didn't want dissent breaking out on his account, especially so soon after Aizen's downfall. The Gotei 13 was supposed to stand together, to help, to protect, not destroy.

"_And since when has that ever worked out?"_ Nejibana pointed out almost bitterly in his mind. _"The Gotei 13 has always been far too entrenched in rules and regulations. You were alone when you fought to save those who were wrongly accused despite the odds and risks. They know that, they understand that, and that is why they stand by you, Ichigo."_

Great. Now even his own Zanpakutou was siding against him.

He glanced around. What he needed now was someone normal who'd maybe curse at him a bit and act... _normal_.

Ichigo disappeared in a blur of shunpo, reappearing beside Lilynette and scooping her up. "Want a lift, kid? I'll get you there faster."

And before Lilynette could do more than squawk in protest, Ichigo had sprinted away, leaving a startled crowd behind.

"Put me down!" The girl screeched, hanging on despite her complaints. "And don't call me a kid, you stupid Shinigami! This is kidnapping, you know!"

Ichigo grinned with relief. "Oh? _Kid_napping, is it?"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! STARRK! HELP! THIS MORON WON'T LET ME GO!"

Ichigo slanted a glance to the side where Starrk was trailing only a few steps behind, having taken off after Ichigo much quicker than the others.

Starrk quirked a lazy smile that held a gratifying measure of understanding in it. "Shut up, Lilynette. You don't have to do any work; be grateful."

Lilynette sputtered and flailed her fists in Starrk's general direction. "You lazy ass! You just don't want to go to the effort of doing _anything_! I bet Ichigo would wipe the floor with you in a fight! You're just chicken!"

Ichigo relaxed as Lilynette continued yelling increasingly creative insults at both of them and Starrk yawned and ignored her.

This was what he wanted; just to have the people he cared about around him and happy. The last few days at the Shiba household had been some of the best in both his lives.

However, judging by how they hadn't hashed out all the things everyone had wanted to say about what Ichigo had done, this wasn't over yet.

**23.**

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ichigo stared across the lab, frowning when he saw Kurotsuchi tapping away at one of the computers.

It had taken twenty minutes for Ichigo to put in every code and bypass every precaution Aizen had set. The labs had pretty much been abandoned but Aizen hadn't bothered taking the defences down.

As a whole, everyone had spread out just to make sure no leftover experiments were still hanging around, and Ichigo had just finished searching one of the rooms with Starrk and Lilynette. The other Shinigami were wandering back in as well, Renji coughing a little from a layer of dust that he looked to have somehow managed to dump over his head.

Kurotsuchi didn't answer, but a second later, a hologram flashed into existence in the middle of the room, and Ichigo was suddenly staring at his own face, the only difference being his hair and eye colour.

The lab instantly shut up.

Ichigo couldn't see this ending well.

**24.**

**[Recording SK1]**

_"Lisa?" Kaien poked his head into the Eighth Division lieutenant's office. It was empty. "Jeez, is she still not back from her mission? I hate juggling paperwork for two divisions by myself."_

_ With a wordless grumble, he closed the door and headed back out, pausing at the captain's office long enough to pound on the door. "Kyouraku-taichou! Please do some of your paperwork today! I'm not handling yours and Ukitake-taichou's!"_

_ He paused when there was no answer. A Shinigami officer passing by called out to him, timid and blushing when he turned his attention on her._

_ "G- Good morning, Shiba-fukutaichou," The girl bowed low, barely able to meet Kaien's eyes when she straightened again. "K- Kyouraku-taichou i- isn't in right now. He went to see the Captain-Commander half an hour ago."_

_ "Ah, is that right?" Kaien scratched his head and grinned his appreciation. "Well thanks for telling me. Mind sending someone over to the Thirteenth to tell me when he does get back? He's behind on his work and I've got too much to do to cover for him as well, and your lieutenant will kill me if she comes back with nothing finished."_

_ The girl flushed red again but nodded eagerly, bright-eyed and earnest. "I will, Shiba-fukutaichou; the moment Kyouraku-taichou gets back."_

_ Kaien waved a hand and continued on his way._

**[End Recording SK1]**

**25.**

"What is this?" Ichigo demanded as the images flickered and disappeared. "I remember that. That was the day- the day after the Visored were convicted. Kyouraku-taichou went to yell at the Captain-Commander that morning."

"Camera flies," Kurotsuchi announced from the computer. "It seems Aizen had them planted all over Soul Society. Your name was on that one, Kurosaki, along with all of these."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed when the captain held up a box of recordings. Had Aizen known then? Known what he'd been doing before he'd even started? But then why had the traitor not stopped him earlier?

"Put another one on then," Toshirou spoke up, and then paused and actually glanced at Ichigo first. "If that's alright with you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo hesitated, glancing over at the impassive Captain-Commander who didn't look like he would be moving anytime soon. It looked like they'd have to go through the recordings. When the man had ordered a thorough catalogue of everything here, he hadn't been joking.

Ichigo nodded slowly, and then bit back a half-smile when Urahara continued smiling cheerily at Kurotsuchi but removed his cane from the scientist's hands, who had been in the process of reaching for the second video footage even before Ichigo had given his okay.

Kurotsuchi glared sullenly at his former captain but didn't quite seem to dare spitting back a spiteful barb at the shopkeeper.

Another hologram flickered to life and everyone redirected their focus to the images once more.

**26.**

**[Recording SK2]**

_"I can leave in five minutes. Just let me put this away-"_

_ "Kaien."_

_ Kaien stopped at the door of his captain's office, his entire frame wired with tension as he glanced back at Ukitake and Kyouraku. "We're going to look for them, right? They've been _Hollowfied_. What if they're hurt? What if they're dying?"_

_ Ukitake looked tired. Kyouraku was staring out the window, hat shadowing his eyes. "We can't search for them, Kaien. Soutaichou's orders."_

_ Kaien bristled. "Screw the Captain-Commander's orders! Lisa's out there somewhere! We can help them-"_

_ "We can't disobey his direct orders," Ukitake closed his eyes for a moment. "And it's dangerous, Kaien."_

_ "I'm an officer of the Gotei 13!" Kaien snapped. "Danger kinda comes with the package! Look, let me go alone then. Send me on a mission to the Human World. Urahara-taichou, Tsukabishi-taichou, and Shihouin-taichou's with them. They've gotta know that staying in Soul Society isn't an option anymore, so they'll have run to the Human World. Let me search for them. I'm not a healer but I can still help."_

_ Ukitake shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kaien, but any missions to the Human World has to be sanctioned by the Captain-Commander right now. He's..."_

_ "I asked for one myself," Kyouraku spoke up at last, and when he turned, Kaien stiffened under the flat grey gaze pinning him in place. "Yama-ji ended up sending an assassination squad down to the Human World instead. I'm afraid there won't be any missions, Kaien-kun."_

_ Kyouraku sighed deeply, tugging his hat down again. "Maa, I should be heading back to my Division to- take care of things. I'll see you later, Juushirou, Kaien-kun."_

_ And then it was just Ukitake and Kaien, the former looking grave while the latter gritted his teeth._

_ "Taichou," Kaien made a helpless gesture with one hand. "It's Lisa! She's my best friend, my sister! You can't tell me to just leave her!"_

_ "That's exactly what I'm telling you to do," Ukitake looked pained but firm._

_ "But-"_

_ "It could've been you, Kaien," Ukitake cut him off, apprehension in every line of his features. "If I hadn't fallen sick and you hadn't stayed behind to run the Division, you would've been requested to go in Lisa's stead. You would've been the one Hollowfied."_

_ Kaien gaped for a moment before pulling himself up. "Better me than her, especially if it should've been me! All the more reason for me to go find her! And not just her either; Hirako-taichou is out there as well, and all the others-"_

_ "No," Ukitake stood up, frowning sternly. "Kaien, you are to stay away from this issue entirely, do you understand? That's an order."_

_ Kaien stared in disbelief. "Seven captains and four lieutenants gone, and we're not gonna do anything about it? You realize that besides Shihouin-taichou, everyone else was convicted because _Aizen said so_, right?!"_

_ "Lower your voice!" For the first time since the conversation had started, Ukitake's sounded slightly alarmed. "You never know who could be listening, Kaien."_

_ They both glanced at the open window._

_ "I'm sorry," Ukitake repeated, sitting down again. "But we can't afford to lose anyone else. Aizen-fukutaichou is... not quite as... harmless as we thought him to be, but that is not an opinion shared by many. I don't want you going up against him."_

_ Kaien clenched his hands. "If Aizen really did pull my friends into some fucked up experiment and then framed Urahara-taichou and Tsukabishi-taichou for it, then I think he'll find that I'm more than a match for him."_

_ "That's enough, Kaien," Ukitake's voice sharpened into that of a commanding officer's. "You will leave this alone. That's an order, understand?"_

_ Kaien stood in the doorway, desperation etched on his face as he shook with emotion, but in the end, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed._

_ "Yes, Taichou."_

**[End Recording SK2]**

**27.**

"You didn't mean that," Juushirou observed, glancing at his once-lieutenant and wondering how he had missed the determined edge in Ichigo's voice that day. A twinge of guilt sparked in his chest at hearing himself basically order Ichigo into not helping a group of people who were essentially both their friends. Juushirou had known Love and Rose somewhat better than Ichigo, which only made it worse.

(But Shunsui had lost Lisa, and Juushirou had had no doubts that he'd lose Kaien if his lieutenant had gotten in Aizen's way, and as bad as he felt for Lisa who had practically been his second lieutenant what with the amount of time she spent with Kaien doing the Eighth and Thirteenth's collective paperwork, Juushirou selfishly wanted to keep Kaien safe.)

Ichigo tilted his head, a rueful smile spreading over his face. "No, I didn't, not for a second. But I figured arguing with you any further wouldn't get me anywhere."

"Lucky too," Hirako added from several feet away. "Looks like ya managed ta throw Aizen off your trail for a few decades with that act. He must've wanted ta keep an eye on ya, ya bein' Lisa's friend and all."

Ichigo blinked, and then took on a faintly embarrassed cast. "I know I was talking mostly about Lisa and all, but I meant the rest of you as well. I mean I knew you, Hirako, you even came by the Shiba compound all those times for those parties we used to throw-"

Hirako grinned, laidback and entertained. "I get it, Ichigo, don't talk yourself in circles. I at least crossed your mind; that's somethin'."

"What parties?" Sarugaki peered suspiciously at the former captain.

Hirako made a face at her. "None that anyone would invite ya to."

Juushirou hastily cut in before the former lieutenant could explode at Hirako. "The Shibas had the tendency to have large dinners over the weekends. After Ichigo became my lieutenant, he got into the habit of inviting myself and Shunsui over, and then Lisa became lieutenant and she tagged along, and Hirako somehow joined in one night and it became a regular occurrence."

"Ya don't have ta make it sound like I accidentally wandered in in the middle of the night and refused ta leave," Hirako grumbled as Lisa snickered on Ichigo's right. "I distinctly recall gettin' an invite."

Juushirou suppressed a smile of his own and offered an apologetic look instead, but Lisa cut in with a smirk. "Yeah, I remember that too. You came up to me that day and told me I was your 'first love', proclaimed it to the entire street, and then Ichigo punched your lights out and called you a pervert! Highlight of my week."

A smatter of laughter erupted in the room.

"You didn't tell us that was what happened when you pulled that bullshit with Lisa, Shinji!" Muguruma guffawed.

Hirako grimaced, one hand rubbing at his nose in recollection. "Like sister, like brother, smashing people's faces in with no warning. I said I didn't mean it afterwards."

Ichigo looked to be holding back his own laughter. "And I apologized by inviting you over for dinner. But it was your own fault, Hirako. Seriously, the guy working the dango stand thought you were about to propose to your fiancé, what with your first love spiel."

"Ichigo, ya punched a captain?" Renji looked faintly impressed. "Well, I mean, you fought against the entire Gotei 13 once upon a time, but even back then?"

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head. "Like I said, Hirako's fault. The only pervert I can stand hitting on Lisa is Kyouraku-taichou, and that's only 'cause Lisa's alright with it or I'd punch him too."

"I'm hurt, Ichigo-kun," Shunsui sent a passable impression of hurt in Ichigo's direction, though it was ruined by the smile twitching at the corners of his lips. "How could you call me a pervert? What would you call Lisa then?"

"My best friend and sister who can do no wrong," Ichigo said with a completely straight face. Beside him, Lisa reached up and patted him on the head, smiling in approval.

"I've trained him so well," She announced with a grin so reminiscent of the lieutenant who hadn't yet been betrayed by her own people and hardened by harsh experience that Juushirou almost did a double-take.

Another round of laughter sounded as Kukaku gave Lisa a thumbs-up and a wide grin, and Shunsui lamented exaggeratedly over the pair of troublemakers Ichigo and Lisa had always been.

Juushirou chuckled softly and glanced at the two lieutenants standing together again. He hadn't noticed earlier what with Lisa positioned behind Hirako and Ichigo standing out front, but the two Visored, even with Ichigo's orange hair, brought a wave of nostalgia washing over Juushirou.

"Sight for sore eyes, hm?" Shunsui murmured, slipping back over to his side.

"Yes," Juushirou agreed wholeheartedly. "And it will be nice to have them both back again. Unless Nanao-"

"Nanao-chan will step aside for Lisa-chan," Shunsui said with conviction. "There's no doubt about that. But..."

He trailed off, and there was something in his voice that made Juushirou stiffen. "What is it?"

Shunsui glanced at him. "I think you and Ichigo-kun will need to sit down and have a proper chat later."

Juushirou frowned, but he didn't have time to prod for a clarification when another video recording sprang to life in front of them.

**28.**

**[Recording SK3]**

_"Aizen-taichou, we have a problem," Tousen said as soon as Aizen stepped into his office and closed the door._

_ "Urgent enough that it cannot wait until tonight? You know this room is bugged."_

_ Tousen shook his head. "Last night, I returned to the labs, having forgotten a few folders I had brought with me. I sensed something not quite right but I found nothing amiss. However, I waited outside, and three hours later, I felt Shiba-fukutaichou's reiatsu appear from the labs."_

_ Aizen's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Interesting."_

_ "Has Ukitake-taichou discovered your plans? Perhaps he sent his lieutenant to find out more."_

_ Aizen chuckled. "No, Ukitake-taichou follows Yamamoto-soutaichou's orders and has long since told Shiba-fukutaichou to cease looking into my plans. Shiba-fukutaichou is acting on his own."_

_ "But why? What has he to gain from something so risky?"_

_ Aizen smiled. "He is looking to clear the names of those who were Hollowfied, specifically Yadoumaru Lisa and perhaps Hirako Shinji. They were close friends of his, after all."_

"_But that was over forty years ago! To continue searching even now-!"_

_Aizen inclined his head. "Hmm, it seems I have underestimated Shiba Kaien's tenacity. That man is many things, but first and foremost, he is loyal. What a pity he has already given it to his friends and family. He would have made a good soldier."_

"_Then what shall we do about him? We cannot leave him unchecked."_

"_No, we cannot," Aizen acknowledged, staring thoughtfully out the window. "...How are the new Hollows coming along?"_

"_Some are not quite on par yet; most are not fit for battle. Did you have any specific Hollow in mind?"_

"_What about... Metastacia?"_

"_I believe he is ready. Should I redirect a mission to the Thirteenth, requesting Shiba Kaien's lead?"_

"_...No. Release Metastacia in the forests of District 64, North Rukongai; I would like to observe the results. And I will prepare the necessary reconnaissance mission. Shiba-fukutaichou is widely hailed as a prodigy. He will be suspicious if an assignment so close to my labs arrives on his desk. ...I will give it to the Thirteenth Division's Third Seat instead."_

"_The Third Seat?"_

"_Yes. Shiba Miyako, I believe. A necessary loss. It will provide sufficient distraction for Shiba-fukutaichou when his wife does not come home alive."_

"_As you wish, Aizen-taichou."_

**[End Recording SK3]**

**29.**

A sickened silence choked the room when the hologram faded away.

Ichigo didn't notice. There was a funny ringing in his ears, and all he could see was the image of Aizen planning Miyako's death as if he was arranging a tea party.

He had told her not to go that day.

_"Miyako, maybe you should let someone else lead this mission. I just have a funny feeling about it."_

But she had said she could handle it.

_"Don't worry, Kaien. I'm proud to do my duty, and I'll kill any Hollow out there disturbing a soul's rest. I'll be fine; it's only a reconnaissance mission. I'll be home before you know it. Besides, it's your birthday at the end of the week; I can't possibly miss that, right?"_

Yet it had taken a retrieval squad to bring her home, unconscious and looking just like Miyako but had ended up only being her corpse. Miyako had been long dead.

If only he had warned her about Aizen, if only he had forced her to drop the mission, if only he had gone himself – would any of that have made a difference?

"Ichigo?"

A gentle hand on his shoulder made him jump a foot in the air, and he almost tripped over his feet as he whirled around to face his captain. Ukitake's brow was creased with concern and sorrow, and his hand remained on Ichigo's shoulder as if he thought Ichigo would keel over any second.

Ichigo squared his shoulders. He couldn't think about Miyako right now, not in front of all these people. He'd been putting off concentrating on his dead wife ever since he remembered having a wife; he could shove everything to the back of his mind for a little longer.

"I'm fine," He smiled through his scowl. Absently, he wondered if he could tell them all to stop watching, but he still had to clear his clan's name, and this was part of the evidence that would ensure that the crimes that Ichigo had committed had been justified. Besides, he'd rather be here watching with them than allow the Captain-Commander and whoever else the old man deemed fit to watch them without him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo turned and blinked at the Seventh Division captain currently bowing from the waist in front of him. Hisagi stood beside him in a similar position. "K- Komamura-san? Hisagi-san?"

"I apologize for Tousen," Komamura stated solemnly. "It seems it was he who betrayed you to Aizen."

"Y- You don't have to bow like that!" Ichigo waved his hands frantically, beyond relieved when they both cautiously straightened. God, this was fucking awkward. "Look, it was Tousen's fault, and I just wasn't careful enough. I remember Tousen coming back here for some documents; he caught me by surprise."

Ichigo pointed up at the metal rafters above. "I just managed to hide up there when he walked in, and I was sure I was going to get caught because he stopped in the middle of the room and just stood there for five minutes, but then he picked up his files and left. I didn't know he'd still be outside three hours later."

"Still, if we had at least suspected..." Hisagi looked pained as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Tousen should've known better," Ichigo glanced back at the empty spot where the footage had been. "It's not anyone's fault but his. He wasn't a child; he made his choice. The wrong one, but it was his choice nonetheless, and that's his responsibility to bear. I get that he was your friend and captain, but blaming yourselves for his decision is just taking that responsibility away from him."

Like Ukitake had tried to do for Ichigo, but it was nobody's fault save his own for charging headlong into a battle like that, for falling prey to Metastacia. He had thought of protecting Miyako's memory, and he had thought of fighting for his own pride and Miyako's pride and the pride of his men, but no matter what other people believed, all that had come second to revenge.

Revenge, and maybe a desire to follow Miyako when he had asked to fight such a dangerous Hollow alone.

"Let's move on," Ichigo said with strained lightness, ignoring the startled looks that both Komamura and Hisagi had taken on after he had semi-lectured them. "There's only a few left, right?"

"Wait," Ikkaku interjected, scratching his head. "What I wanna know is why Tousen bugged his own office. It's great for us, but wouldn't it be better for Aizen if he hadn't bugged it on the off-chance that someone found the camera flies?"

"That's why they bugged it," Toshirou corrected. "If the camera flies were found, it would be suspicious if only the Third, Fifth, and Ninth weren't bugged. Aizen's Zanpakutou would ensure that nobody would actually see anything worth seeing if they did manage to get their hands on the cameras."

Ichigo made a face; he could've done without seeing Aizen order Miyako's death, especially now that the man was dead and Ichigo couldn't kill him again.

He pulled his attention back to the center of the room when a fourth recording came on, and then instantly regretted it when he saw what it was.

Aizen really was a sadistic bastard.

**30.**

**[Recording SK4]**

_"Stop, Miyako!" Kaien threw himself in front of his captain and subordinates, arms outstretched as he stared desperately at his wife._

_ Miyako jerked to a stop, eyes empty, cheek splattered with blood. For a moment, nobody moved or even breathed, five pairs of eyes glued on the sole figure standing amidst the Shinigami who had fallen under Miyako's blade._

_ And then, in a flit of Shunpo, Miyako leapt over their heads onto the nearby roof, quickly darting away into the night._

**[Footage Skip]**

_"Taichou, she can't have gotten very far yet," Kaien said flatly as he stared down at the bodies of his comrades._

_ "Wait, Kaien!" His captain's voice was sharp with caution. "Control yourself! Following her now is just what the enemy wants."_

_ Kaien raised his head, gaze focused on a point beyond the line of trees ahead. "Still, I must go. It manipulated Miyako to kill her subordinates, who care for her."_

_ His hands tightened into white-knuckled fists, almost trembling with raw fury and barely restrained grief. "It sullied her pride."_

_ Kaien gritted his teeth. "Please let me go, Taichou!"_

_ Ukitake's frown deepened but there was a sad sort of acceptance in his eyes. "Very well. I will go with you."_

_ Kaien turned at last, and his eyes were dark with haunted shadows as he met his captain's steady gaze. "Taichou..."_

_ Ukitake nodded once, firm and resolute, yet holding a measure of dread that Kaien either didn't see or ignored, before glancing at Rukia. "You come too, Kuchiki."_

_ Rukia dipped his head, brow scrunched with distress. "Yes, sir."_

_ Ukitake turned to Sentarou and Kiyone next. "You two take command here and prepare combat protocols."_

_ Both officers saluted. "Understood!"_

_ Ukitake had barely turned back before Kaien was surging forward, eyes burning with cold fire. "Let's go!"_

_ Ukitake swiftly shunpoed after his lieutenant when Kaien rushed off, and Rukia dashed after them, mouth pinched with worry._

_ "Kaien, slow down!" Ukitake called out as they raced after the Hollow that had taken Miyako. "It is pointless to waste energy here!"_

_ Kaien never slowed down, never even turned around as he hurtled forward with singular focus._

**[Footage Skip]**

_ "Taichou, I beg you. Please let me go alone," Kaien's eyes held nothing but the Hollow who had murdered Miyako. Beside him, Rukia peered up at him, wide-eyed and anxious._

_ Ukitake stared for a heartbeat, two, and then closed his eyes. "Alright."_

_ Kaien didn't waste a single second, leaping down onto the forest floor without further ado._

_ The Hollow crouched at the opposite end of the clearing chuckled maliciously. "So you're first, eh boy?"_

_ Kaien's gaze slid back to Miyako's Shihakushou and Zanpakutou. When he spoke, his voice was low and rough with near-untamed rage. "Hey asswipe, how many Shinigami have you eaten so far?"_

_ "Well now, how many..." The Hollow cackled again. "Sorry, but I don't remember the number."_

_ Kaien's expression was icy. "Have you regretted it even once?"_

_ "That's a stupid question, boy," The Hollow jeered. "I have a heart just like you people. There hasn't been a night I haven't regretted after eating Shinigami. Even now, I regret I didn't manipulate that Shinigami woman more before eating her."_

_ Kaien's bangs shadowed his eyes. The maelstrom of emotion in his voice teetered on madness. "You controlled Miyako and made her kill her comrades..."_

_ "Controlled?" The Hollow laughed. "At that time, I was _inside_ that woman. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to show you the moment I consumed her and returned to this form."_

_ And just like that, reiatsu exploded from Kaien's body as the lieutenant unsheathed his sword, power tearing across the clearing as Kaien snapped._

_ In the blink of an eye, two of the Hollow's arms had been severed from its body. Whirling around, Kaien grasped one of its tentacles and barked out, "Rage through the seas and heavens, Nejibana!"_

_ His Zanpakutou morphed, and then abruptly shattered, and Kaien froze, shock temporarily overriding his fury. "What?!"_

_ "You fell for it," The Hollow growled gleefully. "When anyone touches my feelers, their Zanpakutou vanishes!"_

_ Another tentacle came flying out and slammed into his chest, knocking him back through the air._

_ "Kaien-dono!" Rukia cried from the side, hand moving to her Zanpakutou. Ukitake's own hand stopped her. "Taichou... Why not?! We must save Kaien-dono!"_

_ "If you save Kaien, then what becomes of his pride?" There was a heaviness in Ukitake's voice that was almost resigned. If you go to his aid now, his life will be saved. But at the same time, it would end up killing his pride for all eternity."_

_ "What does pride matter?!" Rukia lashed out. "Compared to life, pride is nothing!"_

_ "Listen and remember well," Ukitake continued, gravity weighing his voice down. In front of them, Kaien continued fighting, clashing against the Hollow with wordless roars and reckless movements and single-minded intensity. "There are two kinds of fights. W__henever we go into battle, it must always be one of the two__ – the fight to protect life, or the fight to protect pride."_

_ Ukitake's jaw tightened, and the man looked like he wanted nothing more than to run to Kaien's aid, but his feet stayed in place. "Right now, he is fighting for pride – the pride of his men, his own pride, and most of all, the pride of his beloved wife."_

_ Out in the clearing, Kaien, bleeding from several gashes and eyes still wild with grief-borne wrath, snarled at the Hollow's taunts. "I can take care of you all by myself!"_

_ Even with its grotesque face, the Hollow still looked smug with Kaien's answer. "Is that so? Then I shall reward you with the same treatment as your beloved wife. You get the pleasure of me controlling your body from within and killing your own comrades against your will!"_

_ The Hollow shrieked with laughter, and before Kaien could react, its tentacles burst from its back and raced towards him, seeping into his skin in mere seconds and leaving its original body behind._

_ "Kaien... -dono..." Rukia stuttered out, voice quavering._

_ "What?" Kaien's voice was distorted. "Did you call me, little girl?"_

_ And then he turned, and there was no more Kaien in the monstrous, hollow-eyed face anymore._

_The Hollow leapt at her, features hungry and feral, and it would've eaten Rukia if Ukitake hadn't cut in._

_ "RUN, KUCHIKI!" The captain snapped, sword drawn. "HURRY UP! DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!"_

_ Rukia ran, fear and anguish clouding her face as tears welled up in her eyes._

_ "Why...?! Kaien-dono!"_

**[Footage Skip]**

_"Are you mad?! You're going to kill your own man?!"_

_ "Yes I will!" A storm raged in Ukitake's eyes, despair and misery and outrage, but his hands were steady as he readied himself for battle. "I cannot let the likes of you have Kaien's body!"_

_ He slashed at the Hollow, drawing blood even as it narrowly escaped a second blow, but before he could leap after it, a rasping cough tore from Ukitake's throat as his illness brought him to his knees._

_ The Hollow didn't come back for him though. Instead, it aimed directly for Rukia standing near the tree line, looking small and frightened even as she held her Zanpakutou in front of her._

_ "You fool!" Ukitake shouted, stumbling to his feet only to stagger after a few steps. "Why did you come back?!"_

_ And in Kaien's body, the Hollow laughed and laughed, Kaien's typically kind and friendly features twisted into a hideous image of a monster._

_ And yet-_

_And yet there was fear reflecting from that face, a hopeless struggle against the Hollow that was in control that spoke of Kaien suffering as he watched Rukia approach her death at his hands._

_ Rukia's sword wavered and then steadied._

_ The blade plunged into Kaien's body. Crimson painted the night sky._

_ Rukia shook as blood dripped down her hands and splashed warm against her face. Her lieutenant slumped against her._

_ Rain began to fall._

_ "Thank you," A voice whispered, and it was all Kaien this time, exhausted and hoarse with agony but tempered with genuine appreciation. A trembling hand pressed against her back. "Thank you, Rukia. Thank you."_

**-3-  
**

As Rukia watched her past self, all she felt was numb, and when Ichigo's arm, warm and comforting, wrapped around her shoulders, she didn't jump or stiffen or pull away, only reaching out to tangle her fingers into his Shihakushou and press against his side as her worst memory played out.

**-3-**

_ Rukia couldn't move. "Kaien... –dono... Kaien-dono, T- Taichou is coming now; just- just hang on-"_

_ The blind rage from before had leaked from Kaien's frame, and when he spoke now, despite the pain, it was the usual Kaien speaking again, calm and level-headed and not the one who had been almost berserk with vengeance and heartache._

_ "Not here yet then?" A wet cough wracked the lieutenant's body. "Good, that's good. There's something I need to tell you, something I need you to do for me."_

_ "You- You can do it yourself," Rukia choked out._

_ "No," Kaien pulled back to look at her, and a small smile quirked his bloodied lips. "I am going to die, Rukia. We both know that."_

_ Rukia released a shuddering sob. "My- My fault- I'm sorry-"_

_ "No," Kaien said again, one hand contracting around her wrist. "Not your fault, never your fault. Don't you dare believe that, Kuchiki."_

_ He paused, and his body listed to the side. Rukia scrambled to hold him up, clutching at his back in an attempt to not aggravate the damage already dealt._

_ "S'rry," Kaien slurred, eyes prying open with difficulty. "Listen to me, Kuchiki, this'll be unfair to you, and I have no right to ask you of this, but later, I need you to go to my office and look under the floorboards."_

_ "F- Floorboards?"_

_ "Mm. There should be- should be somethin' important there, and I need'ya to pass that on straight to- straight to Taichou. Direc'ly to him, 'kay?"_

_ "You should- You should tell Taichou this," Rukia's gaze lifted to scan their surroundings over Kaien's shoulder. "He- He's coming now-"_

_ "No," Kaien coughed again. "It's too dangerous for him to know. If- If it's not there, Kuchiki, if it's not under the boards, then I need you to forget I ever said anything, understan'?"_

_ "Wh- What? Wh- Why wouldn't-"_

_ "Rukia, do you understan'?" Kaien's voice rose and cracked, but his gaze remained on Rukia, blazing with desperate ferocity. "If s'not there, you forget I ever said anything, preten' I never asked you to do anything. No matter what you do, you do not go looking into it. Promise me, Rukia, pr'mise me you'll do as I ask, to the letter. Please."_

_ He broke off into another fit of coughs, and this time, his body folded a little as if trying to escape from the pain, only for the sword still embedded in his chest to shift and press deeper still._

_ "Okay, okay, I promise!" Rukia swore hysterically, trying to stop Kaien from moving. "I promise I'll do as you ask, just- just please, Kaien-dono, stay- stay with me! Don't-"_

**-3-**

_Don't die_.

As the recording momentarily stalled and Kurotsuchi muttered a curse over by the computers, Shinji considered turning away because this was a major breach of privacy no matter how you looked at it, but at the same time, it almost felt disrespectful to look away now, and Ichigo seemed wholly mesmerized, skin bleached of colour as Rukia stayed glued to his side, looking three seconds away from bursting into tears.

Ichigo – Kaien; whichever – was an idiot through and through, one of those daft, born-once-in-a-blue-moon morons who just didn't know when to give up. The dimwit was _dying_, and he was _still_ trying to get their names cleared, and if that didn't work out, then at least protect Rukia from any backlash.

A true simpleton who didn't know when to quit, who never listened to 'you shouldn't' or 'you can't' or 'that's impossible', and was quite possibly the most reliable kind of friend one could ever ask for.

Idly, Shinji thought of what life might've been like had Ichigo been Hollowfied alongside them all those years ago.

He mentally snorted. Soul Society wouldn't have known what hit them. It had certainly been completely turned on its head when Ichigo had invaded the place all for a single Shinigami.

Then again, come to think of it, both Kaien back then and Ichigo now had always been terrifyingly protective of Kuchiki Rukia. She was a lucky girl. Kuchiki Byakuya had no room to complain; there was really no one better to keep his sister safe.

Shinji's gaze slid to the side where Ukitake was standing. The man's head was angled in a way that hid his expression from everyone save for Kyouraku standing beside him, who had lowered his hat to shadow his face.

Probably best that way.

He glanced to his right where Lisa had retreated after Ichigo had stepped forward to stand beside Rukia.

Lisa was tough, never whined or wanted pity, and rarely ever cried (she had when they'd gotten news of Kaien's death; Shinji had felt pretty shitty himself but at least he hadn't been the guy's best friend).

She wasn't crying now either, but all the same, Shinji took a step to the side and wordlessly slung an arm around her. It really should be Kyouraku comforting her, but the man looked to have his hands full with Ukitake and his own thoughts.

Still, Shinji approved of the way the captain at least glanced over to ensure that Lisa wasn't alone.

His gaze wandered back to Ichigo. He remembered what he'd said when he'd first met the kid – Ichigo, not Kaien.

"_A Zanpakutou... and a Hollow's mask. Do you get it yet? I'm a Shinigami who has crossed over into the domain of the Hollows. So... let's be friends. I'm a Visored, one of the Masked Army; the same as you, Ichigo. Join us. You don't belong with _them_."_

Looking back now, what he had said had been laughably foolish. No matter what Ichigo became, he'd never abandon his friends.

Shinji glanced over at the Captain-Commander this time. The moment the old man had pardoned them so easily without even getting his hands on the papers Ichigo had produced, Shinji had known what Yamamoto wanted.

At the moment, Soul Society was desperately short on captains. With three different spots open and any and all attempts to fill them ending in failure, Yamamoto would want someone dependable to step up as soon as possible, and who better than former captains who had all proven their capability in the war?

Shinji silently scoffed. He wondered if the old man was finally going senile. Had Yamamoto forgotten what Shinji had said?

They were _Aizen's enemies_, but Aizen was gone, so they were solely _Ichigo's allies_ now.

Shinji was fairly certain that Kyouraku would be able to convince Lisa to return to her old position, and so long as she was okay with it, then Shinji wouldn't kick up a fuss.

Kensei could go either way – return to being a captain again or remain stubbornly outside of Gotei 13's jurisdiction – and Mashiro would follow him in whatever decision he made, but there was that Ninth Division lieutenant to consider now and the kid was barely keeping his head above water as it was. Not yet captain but still keeping his Division afloat was no simple task.

Rose had the same decision to make as Kensei, with a similar situation where the current lieutenant was concerned, so he could go either way as well, not to mention from what Shinji had seen, Kira Izuru was still working through his own problems concerning his twice-damned double-agent of a captain.

The Seventh had Komamura now, and the guy seemed like a good captain and a decent man – wolf – if a bit iffy in the friends department; Love probably wouldn't make waves, and he wasn't all that interested in returning to his old position anyway.

That left Hacchi and Hiyori. Hacchi would follow Tessai's lead, who would most likely stay in the Human World if Kisuke stayed, and knowing the shopkeeper and considering the bow to Ichigo earlier, the man would stay to pay his debt to Ichigo if nothing else; Kisuke usually failed big time in the ethics department but he took debts seriously, especially when it came to people he actually liked. The fact that he rather enjoyed his current job in Karakura was just the icing on the cake.

On the other hand, Hiyori would probably fling herself off the top of a cliff with a cement block tied around her neck before ever stepping foot anywhere near the Twelfth Division again. Every one of them had a bit of an aversion to scientists now, Kisuke being the only exception.

And then there was Shinji himself, and while he felt for Hinamori, he really did, he had absolutely no desire to touch that problem with a ten-foot pole. The girl was just too sweet for someone as prone to tricks and nasty-mindedness as Shinji could be, and she was still hung up on Aizen. That bastard had done a good job brainwashing her.

Heck, at the moment, with bags under her eyes and a slight hunch to her shoulders, Shinji had no idea why Unohana hadn't kept her locked up in the Fourth for the girl's own mental health.

And he didn't necessarily need or want his former captaincy again, so he really had no reason to stick around in Seireitei on a permanent basis. He was officially pardoned now, they all were, which meant that they could come and go as they pleased. Shinji could come back for a breath of Soul Society air anytime he wanted.

And he'd have to make trips up here because despite the popular belief of what seemed like three-quarters of Soul Society, Shinji knew that Ichigo had no intention of staying. The teen had a life in the Human World, a father and two sisters and his own friends, and he'd never abandon that just because he turned out to be a lieutenant from half a century ago as well.

So Shinji would have to stay in Karakura too, not that Ichigo knew that yet; Shinji figured it could be a surprise.

Preferably a show-up-on-his-doorstep-one-day-after-everything-h ad-settled-with-no-room-for-objections sort of surprise.

Shinji grinned to himself. Yes, that sounded like a decent plan overall.

His grin faded as movement started up again on the footage being played. Oh yeah, they still had this to get through.

Well, the worst of it was over, right?

**-3-**

_A rustle alerted them to the arrival of the last of their party, and Kaien, breathing laboured and sagging against Rukia once more, struggled to make himself heard._

_ "Taichou..."_

_ Ukitake, leaning against one tree, stayed silent as he waited for his lieutenant to speak. Desolation couldn't even begin to describe the deadened look in his eyes._

_ "Thank you so much... for letting me fight."_

_ Ukitake didn't blink, didn't make any move to shield himself from the rain even when the water trailed down his face and one couldn't tell the downpour from tears._

_ "Aa." The single syllable was subdued, miserable, lifeless. He said nothing else. There was nothing he could say._

_ Still holding Kaien, Rukia's eyes widened with horrified comprehension. "K- Kaien-dono... you didn't... intentionally...?"_

_ "Kuchiki..." Kaien's words came slower now, syllables dragging together. "I put you... in terrible danger... by making you go along... with my selfishness. I'm sorry. It... must've been hard."_

_ A smile, sad but grateful, curled at his lips. "Thanks. Because of you... I can... leave... my heart here."_

_ His hand slipped from Rukia's back, the other already dangling limply against his side. A keening cry slipped from Rukia's throat as she sat back and lowered her lieutenant even further. A moment later, Ukitake was suddenly there, helping her slip her blade from his chest as gently as physically possible._

_ Kaien didn't even have enough energy left in him to scrounge up a noise of distress as the weapon slipped free and his life spilled out in sluggish pools of crimson, staining his uniform as much as the rain was._

_ Hazy, half-lidded green eyes sought out Ukitake's face as Rukia clung onto his arm, head bowed as she convulsed with the force of her suppressed sobs._

_ "Taichou..." Kaien's mouth barely moved. "'m s'rry."_

_ Ukitake brushed back the wet bangs that stuck to Kaien's forehead. "Shh, there's nothing to be sorry about. Just rest now."_

_ But Kaien's fingers stretched out, catching Ukitake's sleeve. "I was... h- happier than anything... being- being your... lieutenant. Thanks for... t- taking care of me... Tai- chou."_

_ Ukitake forced an unsteady smile, one hand pressing against Kaien's cheek as the other curled around the dying man's weakening grasp. "Aa. And I was happier than anything having you as my lieutenant. I'm proud to have had you by my side for so many years. If anyone should be saying thank you, it should be me. The Thirteenth would've never done so well without you there."_

_ Kaien released a ragged laugh. "Ah, you always... think too... highly... of me, Taichou. E- Ever since you... you conned me... into taking... the- the position... in- in the f- first place."_

_ Ukitake huffed a feeble laugh as well. "'Conned' is a bit harsh, Kaien. You made me wait thirteen years before you finally accepted; that has to count for something, don't you think? ...Kaien? Kaien!"_

_ Green eyes were no longer focused on the white-haired captain. Instead, they had drifted past Ukitake's shoulder, sightless as the light gradually dimmed from them, the last of his life draining away._

_ "NO!" Rukia broke at last, wailing sobs splitting the air as she thumped one loose fist against Kaien's shoulder. "No, Kaien-dono! You haven't finished teaching me yet! I still have so much to learn! You can't go yet! Kaien-dono!"_

_ "He's gone, Rukia," Ukitake, face as white as his hair, tugged the hysterical girl against his chest, his other hand reaching out and gently closing his dead lieutenant's eyes. "He's gone, but he didn't die alone. That was always what Kaien feared most, and we were with him until the end."_

_Rukia just continued crying, frame hunched against her captain. "He's- He's gone- He's really-"_

"_It's going to be alright," Ukitake promised, running a soothing hand through her hair. "Things will look better in the morning."_

_Rukia didn't stop crying. Ukitake didn't look like he believed his own words._

_And the rain continued to fall._

**[End Recording SK4]**

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**Please leave a review on your way out.**

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**And an extra warning – I managed to get this chapter out early but my next two weeks are filled with so much school stuff it's not funny; I don't know if I'll be able to update this or anything else in that time.**


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